Objective: Recent research suggests that stress mindset influences how people response to stress, however, there is a dearth of research investigates the underlying mechanism accounting for the effects of stress mindset on psychological health. The current research investigated how stress mindset and engagement in proactive coping behaviors predicted posttraumatic growth among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Method: Health care professionals (N = 589) from mainland China were invited to participate in this online study through completing the Stress Mindset Measure, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-X), and measurement on engagement in proactive coping behaviors and demographic variables at their convenience from July 9 to July 17, 2020. Results: Health care professionals reported high levels of posttraumatic growth at the total scale (58.6%), subdomains (84.9%). Age, stress mindset, and engagement in proactive coping behaviors were significant predictors of posttraumatic growth among health care professionals. Engagement in proactive coping behavior mediated the predicting effect of stress mindset on posttraumatic growth among health care professionals in China. Conclusion: A stress-is-enhancing mindset predicts higher level of posttraumatic growth among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, and the effect was mediated by engagement in proactive coping behaviors. Clinical Impact Statement The COVID-19 pandemic induced widespread stress among both health care professionals and the general public. The current research demonstrated that adopting the stress-is-enhancing mindset and engagement in proactive coping behaviors significantly predicted posttraumatic growth among health care professionals in China during COVID-19, with engagement in proactive coping behaviors mediated the relationship between stress-is-enhancing mindset and posttraumatic growth. The results have implications for health care organizations to improve the mental health of health care professionals by cultivating the stress-is-enhancing mindset and promoting engagement in proactive coping behaviors during COVID-19.

Research on the use of strengths has suggested that it can promote individuals' psychological health and well-being. This study aimed to examine the relationship between strength use and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in the context of COVID-19 pandemic among health care workers, as well as the mediating role of psychological capital in this relationship. A total of 740 health care workers completed the Strengths Use Scale, the Positive Psychological Capital Scale, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Descriptive, correlational, and multiple mediation analyses were performed to analyze the data. Participants of 55.9% reported experiencing significant PTG during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found a significant and positive correlation between strength use, psychological capital, and PTG. In addition, the study found that self-efficacy and optimism, but not hope and resilience, mediated the linkage between strength use and PTG linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also indicated that self-efficacy and optimism had equal importance in the strength use-PTG link. The study concludes that strength use is positively related to PTG in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic through the mediating roles of self-efficacy and optimism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: The prevalence of burnout among healthcare workers remains chronically high. Former studies have indicated that strength use is a promising approach to reduce burnout. However, relatively little is known about the psychological mechanisms underlying the ability of strength use to reduce burnout, especially among healthcare workers. Aim: This study sought to examine the link between strength use and burnout in Chinese healthcare workers, and to explore the mediating roles of beliefs about stress and basic psychological needs satisfaction in that relationship. Methods: This study was conducted in two time periods, from September to October 2020 and from February to September 2022. A total of 812 healthcare workers completed a multi-section questionnaire. Results: Strength use was negatively associated with burnout and negative stress beliefs, and positively associated with positive stress beliefs, control beliefs, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Moreover, negative stress beliefs, control beliefs, and basic psychological needs satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between strength use and burnout. Furthermore, effect contrasts revealed that the mediating effect of basic psychological needs satisfaction was stronger than that of negative stress beliefs and control beliefs. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that negative stress beliefs, control beliefs, and basic psychological needs satisfaction act as mediators in the association of strength use with burnout. Furthermore, basic psychological needs satisfaction plays a more important mediating role than negative stress beliefs and control beliefs in the strength use–burnout relationship.

Parental marital satisfaction is a well-established protective factor for prosocial behavior in adolescents, yet the parental socialization of adolescent prosocial behavior is limited in Chinese culture. Furthermore, it remains unknown whether the association between parental marital satisfaction and adolescent prosocial behavior is mediated by parent–child intimacy and/or adolescent empathy. The present study examined these associations in 480 students (50.4% male, age = 12.7 ± 0.54 years) and one of their parents. Path analysis (Mplus) revealed that parental marital satisfaction was related to a high level of parent–child intimacy, which was, in turn, associated with a high level of adolescent empathy, which itself predicted adolescent prosocial behavior. The serial mediation effect differed between boys and girls. Specifically, compared with boys, girls’ parent–child intimacy was a stronger predictor of their empathy, and empathy had a stronger predictive effect on their prosocial behavior. Several implications for interventions and policies for increasing prosocial behavior in children are suggested.