Subjective Well-Being Mediates the Effects of Resilience and Mastery on Depression and Anxiety in a Large Community Sample of Young and Middle-Aged Adults

Abstract

The tripartite model of depression and anxiety hypothesizes that positive and negative affect is related to depression and anxiety. However, the specific role of cognitive or psychological well-being constructs like resilience and mastery within a tripartite context and throughout adulthood is unclear. Data was drawn from two longitudinal population-based cohorts, aged 20-24 and 40-44 based in Canberra, Australia (N = 3989). We sought to determine the interrelatedness of two affective measures of subjective well-being, positive and negative affect, with two cognitive measures of psychological well-being, resilience and mastery. We then tested their independent effects on depression and anxiety, and hypothesized, following the tripartite model, that subjective well-being would mediate the effects of the psychological well-being variables on mental health and that the psychological well-being variables would be more strongly related to positive subjective well-being. Principal axis factoring delineated four affective and cognitive dimensions of well-being comprising positive and negative affect, resilience and mastery. Structural equation models identified the psychological well-being variables as significantly related to subjective well-being, which fully mediated the effects of resilience and partially mediated the effect of mastery on depression and anxiety. These findings were consistent throughout both young and middle adulthood. Psychological well-being components are significant predictors of subjective well-being affect states that increase vulnerability to depression and anxiety.