{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T22:16:51Z","timestamp":1788905811242,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,24]],"date-time":"2025-02-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740355200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Jiangsu Province Education Science Planning","award":["B-b\/2024\/02\/44"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["B-b\/2024\/02\/44"]}]},{"name":"Jiangsu Province Education Science Planning","award":["23PJC109"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23PJC109"]}]},{"name":"Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau","award":["B-b\/2024\/02\/44"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["B-b\/2024\/02\/44"]}]},{"name":"Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau","award":["23PJC109"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23PJC109"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigates the relationship between stress and depression among postgraduate students, with a focus on the mediating role of research self-efficacy and the moderating role of growth mindset. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 2278 graduate students nationwide, utilizing the Mindset Scale, Depression\u2013Anxiety\u2013Stress Scale, and Research Self-Efficacy Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 24.0. The results indicate the following: (1) Stress has a significant positive relationship with depression, while stress is negatively related to research self-efficacy, and research self-efficacy is negatively related to depression. (2) Research self-efficacy partially mediates the relationship between stress and depression, accounting for 35.6% of the total effect. (3) Growth mindset moderates both the relationship between stress and research self-efficacy and the relationship between research self-efficacy and depression. These findings reveal the mechanisms through which stress affects depression among graduate students, underscore the importance of mental health education, and provide scientific evidence for universities and educational institutions to design targeted prevention and intervention measures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15030266","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]],"date-time":"2025-02-25T03:40:12Z","timestamp":1740454812000},"page":"266","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["The Effect of Stress on Depression in Postgraduate Students: Mediating Role of Research Self-Efficacy and Moderating Role of Growth Mindset"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-3308-2328","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tongji","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Vocational Education and Training, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Guan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Vocational Education and Training, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yishu","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Vocational Education and Training, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinglin","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Education Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2021.07.053","article-title":"Day-to-day changes in negative attributions of stress: A daily diary study of cognitive vulnerability and negative affect in adults with elevated risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors","volume":"294","author":"Bernstein","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Affective Disorders"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.1111\/cts.12062","article-title":"Summer research training for medical students: Impact on research self-efficacy","volume":"6","author":"Black","year":"2013","journal-title":"Clinical and Translational Science"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"278","DOI":"10.1080\/10615806.2023.2255531","article-title":"Cognitive predictors of stress-induced mood malleability in depression","volume":"37","author":"Kraft","year":"2024","journal-title":"Anxiety, Stress, and Coping"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101816","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2020.101816","article-title":"Growth mindsets and psychological distress: A meta-analysis","volume":"77","author":"Burnette","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clinical Psychology Review"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"3313","article-title":"Could a growth mindset attenuate the link between family socioeconomic status and depressive symptoms? 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