The relationship between stress, resilience, and quality of life in Chinese high school students.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Stress is an important factor affecting the dynamic process of resilience. This study aimed to explore the role of stress levels in the relationship between resilience and health consequences by investigating high school students undergoing the National College Entrance Examination (CEE), which often involves intense stressful conditions for students in China, at different stages. METHODS: The CD-RISC [Conner-Davidson Resiliency Scale] and SF-36 [the short form 36 health survey questionnaire, one measurement of the quality of life (QoL)] were used to investigate 435 high school students, including 208 students in grade two (low stress group) and 227 students in grade three (high stress group). RESULTS: This study found that the SF-36 scores under high-stress conditions were significantly lower than those under low-stress conditions, however there were no significant differences in the mental resilience scores. Additionally, under low-stress conditions, mental resilience was found to be significantly correlated with various factors of SF-36, but no significant correlation was observed under high-stress conditions. It was also discovered that stress levels can mediate the relationship between psychological resilience and QoL (the quality of life). CONCLUSIONS: Stress level is an important factor affecting the expression of resilience. This study also discussed the integration of the concept of resilience.