The presence of meaning in life and character strengths as protective factors of anxious-depressive symptoms in adolescents from Spain and Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The presence of meaning in life (MiL) and character strengths (CS) are protective factors for adolescents’ mental health. The main objective of the present study was to explore transculturally the relationship between MiL and CS with anxiety and depression in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents. Adolescents (N = 577) aged 14 to 18 (319 Russians and 258 Spaniards) completed online questionnaires during the pandemic. The results showed that in both samples, zest, gratitude, and love were the most robust predictors of depression symptoms; zest, hope, and love in girls, and self-regulation, hope, and presence of MiL in boys more robustly predicted anxiety symptoms. The findings provide data on the resilience function of CS and the presence of MiL during the COVID-19 pandemic and have important preventive practical implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Meaning in life
• character strengths
• anxiety
• depression
• adolescents

Introduction

Adolescence is considered a transitional period of mental health risk between childhood and adulthood (Freire et al., 2018). Psychological adjustment during adolescence is crucial for young people’s development and mental health in adulthood (Magson et al., 2021; Rapee et al., 2019). Specifically, anxiety and depression are among the most commonly reported mental health symptoms during this life stage (e.g. Elsayed et al., 2019; Ssegonja et al., 2019). The prevalence of anxious-depressive symptoms, compared to other psychological disorders, was confirmed in a recent meta-analysis (Potterton et al., 2022). Additionally, gender roles were detected in anxiety symptoms, with girls consistently showing higher levels of anxiety than boys (Potterton et al., 2022). Regarding the mental health of adolescents aged 15 to 19, the World Health Organization reported that 2.8% suffer from depression and 4.6% from anxiety, noting that these symptoms are among the leading causes of disability, illness, and morbidity in the adolescent population (World Health Organization, 2021).

The challenging context can act as a risk factor for developing anxious depressive symptoms during adolescence (Bos et al., 2021). On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (Word Health Organization, 2020). Governments in different countries implemented isolation measures to avoid the rapid increase in infections (Valero-Moreno, 2022). The consequences of the pandemic were drastic for the global community. From December 2019 to August 2023, there were 760 million recorded infections and 6.9 million deaths from COVID-19 worldwide (World Health Organization, 2023). Since COVID-19 was declared an international public health emergency, young people around the globe have experienced dramatic changes in their daily lives (Lee, 2020). Circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as illness, fear of infection, school closures, and quarantine, led to mobility restrictions, social isolation, limited contact with peers, and possible exposure to increased family stress (Brooks et al., 2020; Loades et al., 2020). Such circumstances created a stressful context for the global population and adolescents. For example, the most common emotional symptoms during the initial impact of quarantine in children and adolescents were difficulty concentrating, boredom, irritability, restlessness, nervousness, feelings of loneliness, and concerns (Orgilés et al., 2020).

Consequently, the prevalence of anxiety and depression disorders among adolescents increased compared to the years before the pandemic (Racine et al., 2021). For example, Liu and Wang’s (2021) study showed that perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescents. According to the scientific report of the World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2022), younger age and female gender were identified as risk factors for the mental health consequences of the pandemic. The WHO emphasized the need for ‘further research on mental health and COVID-19 among specific at-risk populations’ (World Health Organization, 2022, p. 3).

Racine et al. (2021) meta-analysis findings revealed that the psychological vulnerability of teenagers to the pandemic context varied across different geographical locations. Studies conducted in Europe reported a higher average prevalence of anxiety among teenagers compared to studies in the United States of America or East Asia, where the index was lower. Culture shapes individuals’ perception of the world and can act as a causal or moderating factor in behaviour (Bains, 2005; Tseng, 2006). Cross-cultural studies have sought to understand differences in teenagers’ adaptation to the pandemic (Tamarit et al., 2021). The results of cross-cultural studies suggest that COVID-19 impacted adolescents’ psychological distress and mental health differently depending on their residence. For example, Nguyen et al. (2022) found that the association between the impact of COVID-19 and psychological distress in adolescents was weakly negative in Sweden, weakly positive in Vietnam and the United States of America, and moderately positive in Serbia and Morocco. In turn, adolescents in Latin America reported higher levels of psychological symptoms than their peers in Spain (Tamarit et al., 2021; Valero-Moreno, 2022).

Previous cross-cultural research focused on adolescents’ psychological weaknesses during COVID-19. However, despite the increased psychological vulnerability, studies showed that most adolescents remained resilient to the pandemic’s impact (Racine et al., 2021). Surprisingly, only a few studies have examined individual psychological adaptation factors cross-culturally during the pandemic. In the field of positive psychology, Wong (2011) proposed the ‘dual-systems model as a way to integrate complex interactions between negatives and positives to optimize positive outcomes in various situations’ (p. 69). Knowing the factors that help adolescents maintain mental health in the face of adversity (Shukla et al., 2022). Understanding such resilience factors, considering the cultural context, has important implications for designing universal and culture-specific intervention strategies that help young people mitigate pandemic-related stress and stay healthy (Shukla et al., 2022; Valero-Moreno, 2022).

Positive psychology research has introduced the MiL (Li et al., 2019; Yu & Chang, 2020) and CS as protective factors against adolescent anxious-depressive symptoms (Padilla‐Walker et al., 2020). Previous studies conducted in different countries showed that both MiL and CS act as important protective factors for the mental health of young people in adverse circumstances (Bos et al., 2021; Liu & Wang, 2021). However, no studies have explored the role of MiL and CS in adolescents during the pandemic, taking into account their cultural context.

Compared with single-culture studies, a transcultural approach allows for broader diversity coverage, suggesting which variable relationships may be influenced by cultural context and which ones appear universal (Kagitcibasi, 2004). For example, Shukla et al. (2022) transculturally compared the role of coping strategies in maintaining the well-being of adolescents. The results showed that the strategies in the UK and Israel were the same (‘treating others well’), while ‘feeling useful’ helped adolescents in India (Shukla et al., 2022). The greater the cultural distance between communities, the more it can inform about relationship differences between variables. At the same time, similarities would be indications of the universality of phenomena with higher probability. Spain and Russia are two geographically different countries with different cultures, socio-political structures, historical development, religions, and languages. At the time of data collection, adolescents in both countries were experiencing similar pandemic-related restrictions (interpersonal distance, use of masks, locally dependent quarantines based on the infection rate, prohibition of leisure activities, and semi-presential education). The present study aimed to explore cross-culturally the role of MiL and CS in anxiety-depressive symptoms among adolescents from Spain and Russia in the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results may have valuable implications for designing psycho-educational programmes to prevent emotional and mood responses in adolescents facing adversity contexts.

Meaning in life and mental health during adolescence

MiL is defined as the inherent value of life in the sense that it is worth living (Martela & Steger, 2016). Dialectical perspective (Steger et al., 2006) defines the MiL in two dimensions: presence and search. The presence dimension reflects ‘the degree to which people experience their lives as comprehensible and significant, and feel a sense of purpose or mission in their lives that transcends the mundane concerns of daily life’ (Steger et al., 2008, p. 661). The presence of MiL is one of the components negatively associated with mental health problems (Soo et al., 2018). For example, the presence of MiL was a protective factor against various adverse symptoms, including anxiety and depression during adolescence (Chen et al., 2021; Yu & Chang, 2020). In studies with clinical populations of anxious and depressive adolescents, the presence of MiL was a protective factor against suicidal ideation and desperation (Marco et al., 2017). Another study reported that presence has a buffering effect on bullying victimization concerning suicidal ideation in adolescents (Henry et al., 2014).

MiL seems to be achieved in the later stages of life, which is why much of the research has focused on adults and older adults (Reed, 2018). However, studies with adolescent samples have shown that MiL emerges in the early stages of life. Multiple studies reported that adolescents report substantial levels of MiL presence (Rose et al., 2017; Xie et al., 2023). Therefore, more recently, there has been an emphasis on understanding how MiL emerges and develops during adolescence, delving into the role of personal and contextual factors in the relationship between MiL and health (Reed, 2018). In this regard, it seems essential to understand whether the presence of MiL serves a protective function against anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescents in challenging circumstances. Studies in this line are scarce. For instance, the results of Aviad-Wilchek and Ne’eman-Haviv’s (2018) study showed that disadvantaged adolescent girls reported lower levels of MiL and a higher suicide potential than normative adolescent girls. In another study, Bos et al. (2021) found that homophobia experienced during adolescence reduced the presence of MiL, which, in turn, predicted higher levels of internalization problems in early adulthood. In adults, E. M. Chen et al. (2023) found that higher levels of presence were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and a lower risk of clinical depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another gap is related to the fact that the main focus of research has primarily been on how the presence of MiL relates to other positive variables (e.g. life satisfaction or subjective and psychological well-being) [see the meta-analysis by (Li et al., 2021)], paying less attention to the protective role of presence against psychological distress.

The search dimension of MiL ‘concerns the degree to which people are engaged in a search for meaning in life,’ in order to ‘augment their comprehension of the meaning, significance, and purpose of their lives’ (Steger et al., 2008, p. 661). This dimension is less related to mental health than the presence dimension (Steger et al., 2008). Furthermore, while the presence of MiL showed consistency across studies in its relationship with mental health, the search dimension presented variations in its relationship with mental health through research. For example, in a transcultural study, Li et al. (2019) found that the search for MiL was positively related to internalizing problems in the sample of Italian adolescents, while in Chinese adolescents, this relationship was not significant. However, in the same study, search levels were positively associated with symptoms of depression in both samples. It is worth noting that other studies conducted on Chinese adolescents showed inconsistent results with the findings by Li et al. (2019). Thus, Xin-Qiang et al. (2016) found a negative association between search and depression in the study by (Chen et al. (2021), this relationship was not significant. However, in the study by Chen et al. (2021), the search was negatively associated with symptoms of anxiety.

Character strengths and their relationship to mental health in adolescence

The personal potential that promotes mental health can be explored by applying CS (Petkari & Ortiz-Tallo, 2016). CS are positive personal traits that reflect ways of thinking, feeling, and acting, representing expressions of universal human values (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). According to Park et al. (2004), CS is present in the population to varying degrees, reflecting measures of individual differences.

Peterson and Seligman (2004) developed the Values in Action (VIA) model as an attempt to provide a theoretical model of character based on 24 strengths organized around six broad virtues: (a) wisdom (creativity, curiosity, judgement, love of learning, perspective); (b) courage (bravery, honesty, perseverance, zest); (c) humanity (kindness, love, social intelligence); (d) justice (fairness, leadership, teamwork); (e) temperance (forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation); and (f) transcendence (appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, humour, religiosity). Later, McGrath and Walker (2016) conducted a study with a large sample of adolescents (N = 23,850) from different countries and found a model with four latent factors that fit the observed data. The authors reported that the obtained model showed invariance across multiple potential moderators, including age, gender, country of origin, and measurement instruments. They reformulated a new four-factor VIA model (see Table 1).

Table 1. Four-factor via model (according to McGrath & Walker, 2016).

Factors (number of strengths)	Strengths
Vitality (11)	gratitude, hope, humour, bravery, leadership, love, perspective, social intelligence, spirituality, teamwork, zest
Self-Control (6)	fairness, honesty, judgement, perseverance, prudence, self-regulation
Inquisitiveness (4)	beauty, creativity, curiosity, learning
Other-directed (3)	forgiveness, kindness, modesty

In studies with adolescents, some of these 24 strengths have been significantly associated with anxiety and depression. For example, Giménez (2010) found that, of the 24 strengths, hope, gratitude, love, zest, and perseverance were more strongly associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescents. In turn, the results of the longitudinal study by Gillham et al. (2011) indicated that adolescents with higher levels of forgiveness, kindness, teamwork, self-regulation, and perseverance at the beginning of high school (Time 1) predicted fewer depressive symptoms during the second year (Time 2 and 3), compared to those adolescents with low levels of these CS at baseline. Rose et al. (2018) confirmed the protective role of hope on depressive symptomatology in adolescents. Another study indicated that forgiveness, gratitude, spirituality, hope, social intelligence, and zest were negatively associated with depression (Tehranchi et al., 2018). In 2020, Padilla‐Walker et al. longitudinally confirmed the protective role of hope, perseverance, and gratitude in the anxiety and depression of adolescents.

Some studies revealed the protective function of adolescents’ CS in hostile contexts. For instance, Shoshani et al. (2016) found, in a large sample of adolescents exposed to political conflicts in Israel, that temperamental and transcendental strengths were negatively associated with psychiatric symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, among others. In a more recent study, Liu and Wang (2021) verified that CS, using the total score, was negatively associated with depressive symptoms related to perceived stress in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research problem

MiL was introduced to the health sciences as an existential phenomenon that allows survival and maintaining health in traumatic life conditions (Antonovsky et al., 1971; Frankl, 1990). On the other hand, CS may be latent in a person and emerge in particular circumstances, or they may be expressed to varying degrees in different contexts (Niemiec, 2019). There needs to be more knowledge about the role of both MiL and CS in the anxious-depressive symptomatology of adolescents in the context of the pandemic. These two constructs could be significant psychological resources for the positive adaptation of young people to COVID-19. Additionally, there is a lack of data on which of the 24 strengths protected adolescents to a greater extent against symptoms of anxiety and depression during the pandemic. Discovering CS with greater predictive power can be crucial for designing effective preventive programmes.

Moreover, it seems vital to understand whether MiL and the same CS are equally related to the anxious-depressive symptoms of adolescent boys and girls in two different cultures. These data would indicate whether the explored relationships are universal or due to gender roles or socio-cultural context. Since we did not find previous research in this line with adolescents from Russia and Spain, the present study has an exploratory pilot character. Therefore, the main objective was to explore the predictive contribution of MiL and CS to anxiety and depression symptoms in a sample of adolescents from Russia and Spain, considering gender. Additionally, understanding gender/country differences in MiL levels, CS, and anxiety and depression symptoms would help identify more vulnerable groups. These data would indicate who might benefit more from interventions suggested by the results related to the main objective. Therefore, the second objective was to explore gender/country differences in the levels of study variables.

We found inconsistencies across studies in the degree and direction of the relationship between the search for MiL and anxious-depressive symptomatology during adolescence. Thus, the third objective was to explore cultural and gender differences in the associations of the search for MiL with anxiety and depression levels. These data would have implications for Steger et al. (2006) two-dimensional model of MiL.

Method

Participants

The sample comprised 577 adolescents (63% female) aged 14–18. The Russian sample was 319 Russian-speaking adolescents (M_age = 15. 47; SD = 1. 14; 66% female) from the Moscow region of Russia. The Spanish sample was 258 Spanish-speaking adolescents (M_age = 16. 47; SD = 1. 44; 59% female) from the province of Cadiz. All participants were recruited from public schools and agreed to participate in this study. Because the questionnaire format only allowed submission by selecting an option for all questions, there was no missing data.

Instruments

The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger et al., 2006). This questionnaire consists of two subscales corresponding to the two dialectical model components: the presence of meaning in life and the search for meaning in life. The presence of the meaning subscale measures the degree to which participants perceive their lives as meaningful (e.g. ‘I understand my life’s meaning’). The searching subscale measures the degree to which participants pursue meaning in their lives (e.g. ‘I am always looking to find my life’s purpose’). Each subscale has five items on a Likert scale from 1 (absolutely false) to 7 (absolutely true). The higher the score, the greater the meaning of life (presence/seeking). The MLQ had a two-factor structure (presence and search). The present study’s principal components factor analysis confirmed two second-order factors explaining 61. 57% of the total sample. The internal consistency assessed with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was .82 for the presence subscale and .87 for the search subscale (Steger et al., 2006). In the present study, the internal consistency of the presence scale was .87 in the Russian sample and .77 in the Spanish sample, and for the search scale, it was .85 in both samples.

The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth; Park & Peterson, 2006) assessed participants’ character strengths. The smaller version of this scale consists of 24 scales corresponding to 24 character strengths (4 items per scale), a total of 96 items on a five-point Likert scale (from 5 = ‘very much like me’ to 1 = ‘not at all like me’). The items are indicators of the character strengths they represent (e.g. the item ‘I am usually full of energy’ is an indicator of zest). Some items are inverse (e.g. ‘I often do not feel thankful’). VIA-Youth possesses adequate psychometric properties (Raimundi et al., 2017). VIA-Youth revealed a four-factor structure grouping intellectual, other-directed, temperamental (general engagement), and self-control strengths (McGrath & Walker, 2016). The study’s principal components factor analysis confirmed four second-order factors explaining 59. 86% and 54. 53% variance in the Russian and Spanish samples: 1. Temperamental strengths (zest, love, hope, gratitude, and spirituality); 2. Cognitive strengths (creativity, appreciation of beauty, curiosity, love of learning, leadership, humour, perspective); 3. Interpersonal strengths (fairness, forgiveness, kindness, humility, courage, teamwork, honesty, social intelligence); 4. Self-control strengths (prudence, self-regulation, judgement, perseverance). In previous studies, the mean alpha coefficient value of 24 VIA-Youth scales was .80 (Brown et al., 2020; McGrath & Walker, 2016). In the present study, the internal consistency alpha of the total questionnaire was .95 (Spanish sample) and .96 (Russian sample), with mean values of the 24 scales of .75. The internal consistency alpha of each scale is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Cronbach’s reliability.

	Russia			Spain			ANOVA
	Male n = 109	Female n = 210	Reliability	Male n = 106	Female n = 152	Reliability	Country	Gender	Country x Gender
	M (SD)	M (SD)	α	M (SD)	M (SD)	α	F	F	F
MLQP (5 to 35) MLQS (5 to 35)	24.39 (6.89)	20.03 (7.72)	.87	22.58 (5.88)	21.73 (5.97)	.77	.01	19.55***	8.83**
	23.91 (7.17)	24.50 (7.06)	.85	23.36 (6.83)	25.05 (6.03)	.85	.00	3.77	.87
HADSA (0 to 21)	6.44 (4.45)	9.08 (4.72)	.85	7.00 (3.83)	8.89 (3.99)	.80	.25	36.51***	.98
HADSD(0 to 21)	5.10 (3.89)	5.60 (3.40)	.69	5.16 (3.66)	4.90 (3.65)	.72	1.04	.16	1.47
VIA-Youth (4 to 20 each)
Creativity	14.60 (3.41)	15.49 (3.38)	.77	14.52 (3.60)	14.60 (3.41)	.75	2.66	2.68	1.88
Curiosity	14.96 (3.37)	15.67 (2.64)	.68	15.48 (3.14)	16.16 (2.79)	.69	3.98*	7.45**	.00
Judgment	15.06 (3.16)	14.50 (3.29)	.74	14.41 (3.56)	14.89 (3.29)	.75	.22	.02	3.32
Learning	14.86 (3.52)	14.96 (3.47)	.84	14.82 (3.38)	15.14 (3.07)	.82	.06	.53	.15
Perspective	14.21 (3.55)	14.80 (3.40)	.77	14.13 (2.87)	15.21 (2.72)	.63	.35	9.28***	.78
Bravery	14.85 (3.40)	14.98 (3.23)	.80	16.22 (2.84)	16.68 (2.46)	.71	34.90***	1.26	.40
Honesty	12.74 (3.42)	12.36 (3.73)	.77	14.47 (3.20)	15.08 (2.73)	.65	59.50***	.15	2.96
Perseverance	13.43 (3.79)	13.33 (3.93)	.78	13.55 (3.55)	14.75 (3.15)	.71	5.95*	3.05	4.29*
Zest	14.95 (3.89)	14.36 (3.86)	.83	15.23 (3.39)	15.12 (3.26)	.80	2.70	1.26	0.61
Kindness	13.15 (3.29)	14.26 (3.53)	.73	15.30 (2.88)	16.65 (2.57)	.71	70.05***	20.60***	.19
Love	14.18 (4.01)	13.77 (4.05)	.75	15.05 (3.61)	15.43 (3.62)	.73	14.39***	.00	1.45
Intel Soc.	15.39 (3.23)	15.45 (3.00)	.68	16.14 (2.69)	16.47 (2.53)	.59	12.62***	.58	.30
Fairness	13.62 (3.64)	13.47 (3.56)	.76	14.32 (2.82)	15.59 (2.61)	.52	25.56***	4.03*	6.53**
Leadership	13.00 (3.76)	13.18 (4.34)	.85	12.68 (4.23)	12.19 (3.64)	.84	3.51	.19	.92
Teamwork	15.30 (3.16)	15.33 (3.10)	.72	16.42 (2.73)	17.05 (2.36)	.66	32.84***	1.73	1.47
Forgiveness	15.10 (3.58)	14.63 (3.61)	.82	14.44 (3.25)	14.52 (3.32)	.76	1.65	.43	.82
Modesty	14.72 (3.18)	14.28 (3.10)	.59	14.32 (2.86)	14.81 (2.86)	.41	.06	.01	3.24
Prudence	14.19 (3.08)	13.52 (3.15)	.63	13.16 (3.57)	13.65 (3.42)	.71	2.52	.10	4.15*
Self-regulation	13.95 (3.45)	12.53 (3.49)	.73	12.23 (3.45)	11.92 (3.43)	.61	15.17***	8.24***	3.51
Beauty	14.11 (2.86)	16.98 (2.69)	.62	14.85 (2.77)	15.72 (2.84)	.51	1.16	60.74***	17.26***
Gratitude	15.06 (3.32)	15.38 (3.07)	.64	15.40 (2.80)	15.91 (2.49)	.59	2.93	2.73	.13
Hope	15.70 (3.77)	15.04 (3.98)	.84	16.10 (2.96)	15.86 (2.90)	.66	4.07*	2.24	.46
Humor	15.05 (3.63)	15.31 (3.54)	.81	16.17 (3.47)	15.31 (3.42)	.84	3.39	.95	3.45
Religiousness	10.33 (4.74)	9.83 (4.79)	.86	11.33 (5.38)	11.38 (5.22)	.90	8.64***	.26	.40

***p˂ .001; ** p˂ .01; * p˂ .05.

MLQP – presence of meaning in life, MLQS – search of meaning in life, HADSA – anxiety, HADSD – depression, VIA – Youth – strengths, Learning – love of learning, Soc. Intel. - social intelligence, Beauty – appreciation of beauty.

Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond et al., 1983) consists of 14 Likert scale items from 0 to 3. HADS has two scales, anxiety, and depression, of 7 items (e.g. ‘I feel tense or wound up’ for anxiety; ‘Enjoy the things I used to’ for depression), with a range of scores between 0 and 21 on each. Higher scores represent higher levels of anxiety and depression. A score greater than ten on each scale constitutes the cut-off point for the morbidity criterion, 8 to 10 are interpreted as borderline, and scores below 8 represent no morbidity (Castresana et al., 1995). Studies with clinical and general population samples showed that HADS has a two-factor structure (anxiety and depression), high convergent validity, adequate sensitivity to detect clinical cases at the 10-point cut-off score for each scale; correlations between the two subscales ranged from .40 to .74, and the mean Cronbach’s reliability coefficient value was .83 for the anxiety scale and .82 for the depression scale (Bjelland et al., 2002). In the present study, the internal consistency alpha was .80 (HADS-Anxiety) and .72 (HADS-Depression) in the Spanish sample and .85 (HADS-Anxiety) and .69 (HADS-Depression) in the Russian sample.

Procedure

The data was collected between 2021 (May, October, and November in Spain and September and October in Russia). During that period of the pandemic, entry to schools by external personnel was prohibited. Therefore, data collection was planned in an online format using Google Forms. The study objectives, collaboration request, conditions (voluntary and anonymous participation), and consent with two alternatives (yes/no) were presented on the first page. If you choose to participate, the page with demographic data (gender and age as mandatory questions, and place of residence and school name as optional) will open. From the next page, the evaluation instrument questions would open with mandatory response alternatives to proceed with the submission.

In Russia, under the coordination of the International University Center for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CUNEAC, University of Cadiz, Spain), we presented the project via video conference to the education attaché of the Spanish embassy in Moscow and the management of the Moscow State Pedagogical University. The education attaché of the Spanish embassy in Moscow managed the approval of data collection by the Ministry of Education of Russia. After obtaining approval from the ethics committee of Cadiz (PEIBA code 0307 - N − 22, with registration number 22.22) in Spain and the Ministry of Education of Russia, we requested authorization from the administrations of various schools in the province of Cadiz (Spain) and the Moscow region (Russia) for data collection. We sent the research project presentation, screenshots of the entire survey content, and the informed consent form to the school administration and parents. In Russia, this procedure was coordinated by a professor from the Moscow State Pedagogical University. Schools that signed their consent received the survey link and the bilingual researcher’s contact phone number in case of doubts during the procedure. The procedure was carried out in the computer class during the regular class: the teacher requested voluntary participation in the research, wrote the questionnaire link on the board, and students copied the link to the PC to access information about the research, consent, and questions. Students who did not wish to participate remained in their classes. Participants did not receive any incentives.

Data analysis

The data were analysed using IBM SPSS 24 software. After conducting the exploratory study by checking the fulfilment of assumptions of the models used, we conducted descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations to obtain the first information about the variables and their relationships in two samples: two-factor (culture and gender) Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test for differences in the levels of all variables between the two cultures considering gender. A series of stepwise hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the contribution of MiL, CS, gender, and country to anxiety and depression. We used inclusion criteria with correlations between predictors and outcomes ≥ 0.35 in absolute value in the total sample. These analyses began with the most robust predictor, adding lower predictors if they explained significant additional variance in the outcomes. For a significant contribution (CI = 95%) of gender or country to the outcome variables, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted for each factor level. To obtain the effect size and statistical power of the regression and variance analysis results, we used GPower software (Faul et al., 2009).

Results

Descriptive statistics for MiL, CS, anxiety, and depression for each sample are presented in Table 2, and bivariate Pearson’s correlations are in Table 3. According to Cohen (1992) criteria, the effect size of the relationships between MLQ (presence/search) and the outcome variables is in the range from minor (e.g. the relationship between search with anxiety in the Spanish sample of women r = −.17; p˂ .05) to medium (e.g. in the relationship between presence with depression in men from the Russian sample r = .41; p˂ .01). The effect size of the correlations of the CS and outcome variables is in the range from minor (e.g. the relationship between fairness and search in female Russian sample r = −.14; p˂ .05) to large (e.g. between zest and depression in female Russian sample r = −.65; p˂ .01).

Table 3. Bilateral Pearson correlations amongst main measures (MLQ and HADS) by country and gender. In bold, significative relationships.

	MLQP				MQLS				HADSA				HADSD
	Spain		Russia		Spain		Russia		Spain		Russia		Spain		Russia
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
MLQS	.27^**	.06	.27^**	.16^*
HADSA	−.29^**	−.29^**	−.37^**	−.34^**	.05	.22^**	.01	.01
HADSD	−.30^**	−.40^**	−.41^**	−.35^**	−.08	.17^*	−.18	−.26^**	.59^**	.55^**	.54^**	.52^**
Creativity	.36^**	.27^**	.37^**	.29^**	.26^**	.33^**	.39^**	.26^**	−.06	.13	−.12	−.10	−.29^**	−.06	−.37^**	−.36^**
Curiosity	.25^**	.09	.30^**	.26^**	.25^**	.19^*	.27^**	.23^**	−.04	.13	.02	.01	−.39^**	−.12	−.35^**	−.16^*
Judgment	.32^**	.12	.35^**	.16^*	.20^*	.18^*	.33^**	.23^**	−.18	−.10	−.20^*	.00	−.21^*	−.06	−.30^**	−.18^*
Learning	.43^**	.16^*	.53^**	.42^**	.25^*	.30^**	.34^**	.37^**	−.24^*	−.01	−.36^**	−.19^**	−.33^**	−.12	−.45^**	−.41^**
Perspective	.31^**	.22^**	43^**	.38^**	.03	.30^**	.24^*	.21^**	−.27^**	.09	−.14	−.21^**	−.31^**	−.02	−.29^**	−.34^**
Bravery	.22^**	.19^*	.33^**	.25^**	.26^**	.20*	.19	.19^**	−.16	−.05	−.27^**	−.10	−.19	−.16^*	−.40^**	−.18^**
Honesty	.26^**	.22^**	.35^**	.29^**	.12	.03	.40^**	.04	−.37^**	−.22^**	−.19^*	−.25^**	−.33^**	−.24^**	−.28^**	−.24^**
Perseverance	.33^**	.28^**	.45^**	.37^**	.16	.10	.40^**	.20^**	−.24^*	−.13	−.12	−.24^**	−.37^**	−.27^**	−.36^**	−.42^**
Zest	.48^**	.41^**	.51^**	.41^**	.22^*	−.07	.43^**	.21^**	−.24^*	−.34^**	−.31^**	−.57^**	−.48^**	−.57^**	−.64^**	−.65^**
Kindness	.36^**	.13	.24^*	.10	.33^**	.24^**	.37^**	.13	−.23^*	.06	−.04	.09	−.35^**	−.08	−.19^*	−.07
Love	.42^**	.43^**	.49^**	.34^**	.10	−.02	.28^**	.10	−.27^**	−.42^**	−.35^**	−.46^**	−.48^**	−.54^**	−.58^**	−.47^**
Intel Soc.	.30^**	.28^**	.33^**	.30^**	.24^*	.23^**	.14	.23^**	−.40^**	−.23^**	−.19^*	−.27^**	−.34^**	−.20^*	−.44^**	−.42^**
Fairness	.32^**	.03	.36^**	.13	.22^*	.13	.20^*	.14^*	−.03	−.02	−.25^*	−.05	−.19	−.06	−.35^**	−.09
Leadership	.11	.15	.41^**	.36^**	.03	.23^**	.29^**	.12	−.13	.16	−.18	−.36^**	−.25^**	−.03	−.36^**	−.39^**
Teamwork	.34^**	.18^*	.43^**	.15^*	.24^*	.15	.31^**	.17^*	−.27^**	−.19^*	−.25^**	−.12	−.29^**	−.26^**	−.53^**	−.28^**
Forgiveness	.18^**	.05	.40^**	.16^**	.21^*	.18^*	.08	.09	.07	−.11	−.31^**	−.02	−.04	−.11	−.38^**	−.11
Modesty	−.07	−.10	.20^*	−.08	.08	.18^*	.04	.05	−.06	−.08	.03	.14^*	.01	−.06	−.07	.14^*
Prudence	.23^*	.18^*	.45^**	.25^**	.13	.12	.24^*	.13	−.30^**	−.20^*	−.22^*	−.23^**	−.33^**	−.16*	−.42^**	−.20^**
Self- regul.	.24^*	.07	.28^**	.21^**	.13	−.02	−.10	.04	−.45^**	−.22^**	−.34^**	−.21^**	−.31^**	−.07	−.17	−.14*
Beauty	.33^**	.12	.14	.21^**	.19	.25^**	.26^**	.39^**	−.09	−.10	.04	.00	−.25^*	−.22^**	−.20^*	−.33^**
Gratitude	.30^**	.37^**	.48^**	.33^**	.10	.17^*	.22^*	.21^**	−.28^**	−.28^**	−.46^**	−.29^**	−.43^**	−.47^**	−.63^**	−.52^**
Hope	.34^**	.39^**	.52^**	.50^**	.20^*	.02	.36^**	.26^**	−.20^*	−.31^**	−.37^**	−.57^**	−.29^**	−.30^**	−.55^**	−.63^**
Humor	.24^*	.18^*	.28^**	.16^*	.21^*	.13	.13	.06	.03	.09	−.09	−.22^**	−.10	−.01	−.29^**	−.41^**
Religiousness	.20^*	.28^**	.34^**	.28^**	.11	.14	.34^**	.12	−.03	.04	.08	−.12	−.08	−.10	−.06	−.08

**p˂ .01; * p˂ .05.

MLQP – presence of meaning in life, MLQS – search of meaning in life, HADSA – anxiety, HADSD – depression, Learning – love of learning, Soc. Intel. - social intelligence, Self-regul. – self-regulation, Beauty – appreciation of beauty.

The results of the comparison of means (ANOVA) as a function of gender and country at the .05 confidence level are shown in Table 2. ANOVA power was > .80 for all significant main effects, both gender and country, except for the main effect of the country on the perseverance variable (power = .67) and the gender x country interaction effects on the justice variable (power = .72). Effect sizes ranged from small (simple country effect on the perseverance variable [f = .10]) to medium to large (simple country effect on kindness [f = .35]). The effect sizes of gender on fairness, the country on hope and curiosity, and gender x country interaction on perseverance were negligible (f˂ .10).

Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to detect significant predictors in the outcome variables. Criterion variables with correlations ≥ .35 in absolute value with the outcome variables in the total sample were selected. Presence (r = −.36), love (r = −.38), zest (r = −.42), hope (r = −.42), gender, and country were entered stepwise as independent variables in the anxiety equation. Presence (r = −.36), love (r = −.51), zest (r = −.60), hope (r = −.48), social intelligence (r = −.36), gratitude (r = −.51), perseverance (r = −.36), gender, and country were stepwise introduced as independent variables in the depression equation. The variables that emerged as significant predictors in the outcome variables are shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Hierarchical linear regression of presence and character strengths on the anxiety and depression variables.

Model/predictors	R^2	F (g, l)	∆R^2	∆F	Beta	t	p	f^2	1 - β
HADS Anxiety in the total sample
1. Hope	.180	125.97*** (1, 575)	.180	125.97***	−.424	− 11.224	˂ .001	.41	1.00
2. Gender			.048	35.31***	.219	5.942	˂ .001
3. Love			.038	29.46**	−.229	− 5.428	.002
4. MLQP			.012	9.41**	−.128	−.068	.002
5. Zest			.007	5.62*	−.128	−2.370	.018
6. Country			.005	3.93*	−.071	−1.276	.048
HADS Anxiety in the female sample
1. Zest	.243	115.54*** (1, 360)	.243	115.54***	−.493	− 10.749	˂ .001	.44	1.00
2. Hope			.042	20.99***	−.282	−4.581	˂ .001
3. Love			.026	13.53**	−.198	− 3.678	˂ .001
HADS Anxiety in the male sample
1. Self-regulation	.154	38.79*** (1, 213)	.154	38.79***	−.392	− 6.228	˂ .001	.37	1.00
2. Gratitude			.100	28.38***	−.321	−5.327	˂ .001
3. MLQP			.018	5.08*	−.148	− 2.253	.025
HADS Depression in the total sample
1. Zest	.358	320.26*** (1, 575)	.358	320.26***	−.598	−.17.896	˂ .001	.70	1.00
2. Gratitude			.044	42.17***	−.255	−6.494	˂ .001
3. Love			.009	9.16**	−.139	−3.026	.003

*p˂ .05; ** p˂ .01; *** p˂ .001; f² - effect size; 1-β – statistical power; MLQP – presence of meaning in life.

The significance of the gender contribution in the anxiety model indicated that the model for men might be different from the model for women. Therefore, criterion variables correlating ≥ .34 in absolute value with anxiety in each gender sample were selected. Because the country turned out to be a weak but significant predictor in the total sample, the country was introduced as an independent variable in both equations. Hope (r = −.49), zest (r = −.49), love (r = −.44), and country were stepwise introduced as independent variables in the anxiety equation for the women’s sample. Self-regulation (r = −.39), gratitude (r = −.38), presence (r = −.34), and country were stepwise introduced as independent variables in the anxiety equation for the men’s sample. The variables that emerged as significant predictors of anxiety for the women’s and men’s samples are shown in Table 4. According to Cohen (1992), the effect size was large (˃.35). The findings of the power analysis (close to one for all equations) suggest that the sample size was sufficient (Larson, 2008).

Discussion

Researchers have emphasized the importance of promoting an understanding of how positive psychological constructs, such as CS and MiL, relate to psychological adjustment during adolescence (Yu & Chang, 2020). These considerations might be particularly relevant in challenging contexts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as the exceptional circumstances related to COVID-19 have increased levels of anxiety and depression in the young population. However, we found no studies that have examined these constructs about anxiety and depression in samples of adolescents from Russia and Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. To empirically support the models necessary for designing interventions aimed at promoting greater psychological resilience in adolescents in the circumstances of the pandemic, the present study had, as its first objective, to detect the most robust predictors between MiL and CS in levels of anxiety and depression.

Regarding the anxiety model, we found that its most robust predictors did not vary significantly between Russian and Spanish adolescents; however, they differed between males and females. Thus, in the female sample, the variance in anxiety levels was negatively explained by CS zest (24.3%), hope (4.2%), and love (2.65), accounting for a total of 30.5% of the variance in anxiety. In the male sample, the most robust negative predictors of anxiety were self-regulation (15.4%), gratitude (10%), and the presence of MiL (1.8%), explaining a total of 27.1% of the variance in anxiety. We found no previous studies that explored gender differences in the relationship between CS and MiL with anxiety during adolescence. However, Blanca et al. (2018) reported gender differences in the relationship between CS and life satisfaction in Spanish adolescents. These authors found that honesty was positively associated with life satisfaction only in the male sample. Self-regulation involves controlling and regulating one’s feelings and behaviours. Therefore, individuals who are high in self-regulation, by controlling emotions and instinctive responses, respond according to the norms accepted in society (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Thus, self-regulation could help accept and comply with the restrictive norms dictated by health authorities during the pandemic. High levels of self-regulation could reduce the impact of the COVID-19 context on emotional reactions to the frustration of not being able to lead the usual lifestyle. Consistent with our findings, previous studies showed that self-control protects against emotional problems (Li et al., 2019; Situ et al., 2016) and is one of the strengths with the most significant impact on reducing anxiety during adolescence (Zhao et al., 2023). As suggested by Blanca et al. (2018), gender differences in the anxiety model found in the present study can be interpreted in terms of gender differences during the maturation process in adolescence. Further studies are needed to explore potential gender differences in the type and degree of relationships between CS, the presence of MiL, and mental health during adolescence. As for the rest of the CS in the found models, previous studies also found that hope, gratitude (Padilla‐Walker et al., 2020), zest (Karris Bachik et al., 2021), and love (Zheng et al., 2023) predicted lower levels of anxiety in young people.

Regarding depression, we found that the model was the same regardless of gender and country. The most robust negative predictors of depression levels were zest (35.8%), gratitude (4.4%), and love (0.9%). Together, these three CS explained a total of 41.1% of variability in depression levels. These data are consistent with previous studies in adolescents that showed that zest, gratitude, and love were associated with lower depression symptomatology both cross-sectionally (Tehranchi et al., 2018) and longitudinally (Padilla‐Walker et al., 2020). Taken together, our findings specify and extend the results of previous studies on the protective role of CS against depression (Liu & Wang, 2021) and anxiety (Junaidin et al., 2021) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The presence of MiL correlated negatively with both anxiety and depression in boys and girls from both countries. However, after considering CS, presence was the most robust predictor only in the anxiety model for boys. These findings confirm the results of previous studies that reported that higher levels of presence were associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression during adolescence (Li et al., 2019; Yu & Chang, 2021).

Our findings suggest that feeling grateful, maintaining reciprocal close relationships, and feeling energized (Park et al., 2004) increased (to a greater extent than other explored variables) resilience in the face of anxious-depressive symptomatology among adolescents during the pandemic. Additionally, an optimistic orientation towards the future (especially in girls), as well as the ability to control and regulate one’s feelings and behaviours (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), along with an appreciation of the value of life (especially in boys), helped (to a greater extent compared to other explored variables) reduce anxiety.

Our second objective was to test demographic differences (gender and country) in the study variables to look for data that could affect the found models. While depression levels were similar in both countries regardless of gender, we found a gender effect on anxiety levels. Women in both countries reported higher levels of anxiety than men. These results are consistent with previous studies (Racine et al., 2021). Additionally, the average anxiety levels found in Russian women (M = 9.08; SD = 4.72) and Spanish women (M = 8.89; SD = 3.94) were in the borderline range of morbidity (Castresana et al., 1995). Assuming that the circumstances generated by the pandemic caused the high average levels of anxiety, it would imply that women reacted to this situation differently than men. Gomez-Baya et al. (2022) demonstrated that self-concept could partially explain gender differences in the anxiety levels of young people. In their study, women presented lower levels of positive identity than men. Along the same line, our findings (lower levels of self-regulation in women compared to men and the strong association of this strength with lower anxiety levels in men) suggest that self-regulation could partially explain gender differences in the anxiety levels found. Consistent with other studies (Datu & Yuen, 2022; Xie et al., 2023), we found no gender and country differences in search levels. However, regarding the presence of MiL, we found the main gender effect and the gender-by-culture interaction effect. Thus, while Spanish adolescents did not show significant gender differences, men reported higher levels of presence in the Russian sample than women. Our results in the Russian sample confirmed the data found by Góngora and Solano (2011) in the sample of adolescents from Argentina (higher levels of presence in men than women). It is worth noting that, regardless of the differences found, adolescents presented substantial levels of both dimensions of MiL (averages above the midpoint of the possible maximum score). This data suggests that MiL and its search develop in the early stages of life.

Regarding the levels of CS with significant value in the explored models, we found that in both samples of boys and girls, levels of zest, love, gratitude, and hope were similar. However, boys in both samples reported higher self-regulation levels than girls. Similarly, the meta-analysis of Heintz et al. (2019) showed the advantage of self-regulation in men compared to women in adult samples. However, these authors did not find gender differences in levels of self-regulation in adolescent samples. These results suggest that the boys in the present study reported developmental levels of self-regulation comparable to adult males. However, the higher levels of love and gratitude in women found in previous studies (Heintz et al., 2019) were not replicated in the present study. Regarding cultural differences, Spanish adolescents showed higher levels of love and hope, while Russian adolescents reported higher levels of self-regulation.

Regarding our third objective, we found that the search for MiL showed no significant correlations with either anxiety or depression in men in both cultural samples. However, in women, the relationships between the search for MiL and mental health levels were divergent between the Spanish and Russian samples. Thus, while in Spanish women, the search was significantly positively correlated with anxiety and depression, in Russian women, it was significantly negatively correlated with depression levels. These results point to cultural gender role differences in how adolescents relate to the search for MiL, in contrast to the more consistent relationship between presence and mental health outcomes. These results indicate that, in men, the search does not cause mental imbalance, regardless of the country. However, the search for MiL in Spanish women was associated with anxiety and depression.

Conversely, the search for MiL in Russian women seems to play a protective role against depressive symptoms. In the cross-cultural study by Li et al. (2019), the search for MiL was positively associated with depression in samples of Italian and Chinese adolescents, although to different extents. However, gender differences in the relationships between the search for MiL and anxious-depressive symptomatology have not yet been sufficiently explored cross-culturally in adolescence.

Limitations

However, our findings have to be interpreted considering a series of limitations. To explore relationship models, we employed a cross-sectional design. The correlational methodology does not allow for establishing the direction of relationships between variables. Thus, it would be advisable to validate the found models prospectively in longitudinal studies. Randomized trials are required to confirm the potential effectiveness of suggested interventions. Because the data were self-reported, a possible source of bias is related to social desirability and honesty in responses. CS is morally appreciated (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), while symptoms of anxiety and depression are not easily admitted. For example, Spanish adolescents reported higher and relatively high levels of honesty compared to the Russian sample. It would be prudent to replicate the study with data reported by observers. Although we found no differences in the models between the two countries, it is worth noting that the data from the two cultures were collected in different urban contexts. The Russian sample consisted of adolescents from the capital and its province.

In contrast, the Spanish sample came from a small province in southern Spain. Future research needs to extend the obtained results in Russian and Spanish adolescents to other cultures using large and representative samples from each culture. The health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic were similar around the globe. Governments adhered to the measures proposed by the WHO. In this study, we did not test which aspects of the pandemic context (e.g. lockdown, fear of contagion, or others) caused higher stress levels in adolescents. The gender role found in the anxiety model and anxiety levels suggests the need to explore whether some pandemic context variables affected the mental health of girls more than boys.

Conclusions

As indicated by the results of previous studies (E. M. Chen et al., 2023; Schutte & Malouff, 2019), both the presence of MiL and CS constitute psychological capital for positive adaptation during adolescence. The present research expands on previous literature, providing evidence of the protective role of the presence of MiL and CS against anxious-depressive symptoms in adolescents from two countries (Spain and Russia) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, zest, gratitude, and love emerge as the most robust negative predictors of depression symptoms in adolescents from two cultures; zest, hope, and love as variables most strongly negatively associated with anxiety symptoms in girls from both cultures; and self-regulation, gratitude, and the presence of MiL as the most robust protective variables against anxiety symptoms in boys from both cultures. The data from this study shed light on the protective functions of the presence of MiL and indicate which of the 24 CS were especially helpful in facing the pandemic’s psychological impact on adolescents’ mental health. Thus, our findings point to the possible use of CS and MiL in preventive interventions.

Interventions aimed at promoting MiL and CS would be especially recommended in adolescents with low levels of these variables and high levels of anxiety and depression. Gender differences in anxiety levels and self-regulation, as well as the value of self-regulation in reducing anxiety in boys, suggest that promoting self-regulation as a tool to manage stress could significantly benefit women regardless of the culture.

The findings of this study also have implications for Steger et al. (2006) dialectical model. According to this model, we confirm the presence of MiL as a universal protector of mental health and cultural inconsistency in the relationships of the search for MiL with psychopathological symptoms. These findings extend the results of previous cross-cultural studies (Li et al., 2019; Steger et al., 2008). In the context of the differences found in the levels of presence, it seems that there are gender role differences involved in the development of a presence between Russian and Spanish culture. Despite similar levels of search, we found the gender/culture interaction effect on the relationships of search with anxiety and depression levels. The cultural perspective of the collectivist/individualist dimension proposed by the model authors needs to be revised to explain these results. There is a need to explore the role of gender further while developing a MiL to understand how adolescents from different cultures confront the existential dilemma of the search for meaning in their lives.

Acknowledgments

We thank the schools participating in this study and the adolescents answering the questionnaires. Also, we express our gratitude to the International University Center for Europe and Central Asia (CUNEAC) of the Vice-Rectorate for Internalization of the University of Cádiz (UCA) and the Education Attaché Office of the Embassy of Spain in Russia (Ministry of Education and Professional Training of Spain for their help in data collection in Russia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).