Association between perceived life stress and subjective well-being among Chinese perimenopausal women: a moderated mediation analysis

Xiangrong Li; Zheng Ren; Tianliang Ji; Hong Shi; Hanfang Zhao; Minfu He; Xinwen Fan; Xia Guo; Shuang Zha; Shuyin Qiao; Yuyu Li; Yajiao Pu; Hongjian Liu; Xiumin Zhang

doi:10.7717/peerj.12787

Association between perceived life stress and subjective well-being among Chinese perimenopausal women: a moderated mediation analysis

PeerJ. 2022 Jan 18:10:e12787. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12787. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiangrong Li¹, Zheng Ren¹, Tianliang Ji², Hong Shi¹, Hanfang Zhao¹, Minfu He¹, Xinwen Fan¹, Xia Guo¹, Shuang Zha¹, Shuyin Qiao¹, Yuyu Li¹, Yajiao Pu¹, Hongjian Liu³, Xiumin Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
² Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.

Abstract

Background: The impact of perceived life stress on subjective well-being has been well-established; while few studies have explored the mediating and moderating mechanisms of the association between perceived life stress and subjective well-being among perimenopausal women. This study is aimed at exploring the mediating effect of depressive symptoms and the role of interests/hobbies as a moderator in the association between perceived life stress and subjective well-being among perimenopausal women.

Methods: The participants were 1,104 perimenopausal women at the age of 40 to 60, who were asked to complete a paper-based questionnaire. A single item was used to measure self-perceived life stress and interests/hobbies. The Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Subjective Well-being Scale for Chinese Citizens (SWBS-CC) were applied to assess both depressive symptoms and subjective well-being. Multiple linear regression analysis and the PROCESS macro were adopted to analyse not only the mediating effect of depressive symptoms but also the moderating role of interests/hobbies.

Results: Perceived life stress was negatively associated with subjective well-being (B = - 1.424, β = - 0.101, P < 0.001). The impact of perceived life stress on subjective well-being was partially mediated by depressive symptoms (mediation effect = -0.760, 95% confidence intervals (CI) [-1.129, -0.415]). In addition, the interaction term between depressive symptoms and interests/hobbies was significantly related to subjective well-being (β = - 0.060, P < 0.05), indicating moderating effect. Moderated mediation had a significant index (Index = -0.220, SE = 0.099, 95% CI [-0.460, -0.060]).

Conclusions: Perceived life stress was negatively related to subjective well-being. The impact of perceived life stress on subjective well-being was mediated by depressive symptoms. Besides, interests/hobbies moderated the indirect effect of depressive symptoms on the relationship between perceived life stress and subjective well-being.

Keywords: Depressive symptoms; Interests/hobbies; Perceived life stress; Perimenopausal women; Subjective well-being.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Depression* / epidemiology
East Asian People
Female
Humans
Mediation Analysis*
Perimenopause
Stress, Psychological / epidemiology

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grant from Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province, China (Grant Number: 20200101133FG). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.