Psychological Development and Education ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (5): 699-699.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.05.09

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Developmental Trajectories of Rejection Sensitivity and Adolescent Anxiety and Depression: The Moderating Role of Dispositional Mindfulness

YU Si1,2, WANG Yilu1,2, FAN Xinghua1,2, CHEN Qiao4, MO Shuya4, GUO Chen5, XU Wei3   

  1. 1. Department of Psychology, School of Educational Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081;
    2. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Cognition and Human Behavior, Changsha 410081;
    3. Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875;
    4. Anhua County Second High School, Yiyang 413500;
    5. Shanghai Food Science and Technology School, Shanghai 201500
  • Published:2026-09-12

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Abstract: This study employed a questionnaire method to survey 1260 high school students across three waves. Cross-lagged panel models and latent growth models were used to examine the temporal relationships between adolescent rejection sensitivity and anxiety/depression, as well as the developmental trajectories of these variables and their interrelations. The moderating role of dispositional mindfulness was also investigated. The results showed that: (1) Adolescent rejection sensitivity significantly predicted subsequent anxiety and depression, while depression also significantly predicted subsequent rejection sensitivity; anxiety at T1 significantly predicted rejection sensitivity at T2； (2) Adolescents’ anxiety and depression showed linear growth trends, while rejection sensitivity remained relatively stable; the initial levels and developmental rates of all three variables demonstrated significant individual differences； (3) The initial level/developmental rate of rejection sensitivity bidirectionally predicted the initial level/developmental rate of adolescent anxiety and depression, respectively； (4) Dispositional mindfulness played a protective role in the predictive effects of rejection sensitivity on both the initial levels and developmental rates of adolescent anxiety and depression, but this moderating effect was not significant in the reverse directions. The findings reveal bidirectional predictive relationships between adolescent rejection sensitivity and anxiety/depression within a dynamic developmental context, and demonstrate that dispositional mindfulness can weaken the dynamic relationship whereby rejection sensitivity predicts anxiety and depression. These results provide direction for developing scientific prevention and intervention strategies, offering important implications for safeguarding adolescent mental health development.

Key words: rejection sensitivity, anxiety, depression, dispositional mindfulness, latent growth modeling

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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