For college students facing psychological “weaning”, the lack of a sense of meaning in life can lead to a series of psychological and behavioral problems, such as anxiety, depression, and even increased risk of aggressive behavior or suicide. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the influencing factors related to college students’ sense of meaning in life, especially from the more macroscopic perspective of culture. In this study, 974 college students (Mean age = 19.96, SD = 1.80) from China were selected as respondents, and structural equation modeling and network analysis were used to explore the deep-rooted mechanisms between cultural identity and meaning in life, as well as the role that perceived social support and resilience play in this pathway. The results indicate that cultural identity has a significant positive effect on college students’ meaning in life, while perceived social support and resilience play a chain mediating role in both. In addition, the network analysis was employed to further identify the core items of each variable in the model. This study aims to explore the mechanism between cultural identity and college students’ meaning in life from a novel perspective, providing more insights for college students to seek and obtain a sense of meaning in life.

The present study examines the moderated mediation model of resilience and meaning in life (MIL) within the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) framework. A sample of 971 Chinese college students (mean age = 19.95; 69.5% female) completed measures of consideration of future consequences (CFCs), resilience, MIL, and perceived stress. The results supported the hypothesized model: CFCs negatively predicted perceived stress, and this relationship was partially mediated by resilience. MIL moderated the association between CFCs and perceived stress, with the search for meaning subdimension amplifying the negative relationship. In contrast, the presence of meaning did not exhibit a significant moderating effect. High levels of CFCs were significantly linked to lower perceived stress when the level of search for meaning was high. These findings highlight the dynamic interplay of cognitive and motivational factors in stress management, underscoring the potential of fostering resilience and meaning-seeking behaviors to promote well-being among college students.

Humor has emerged as a vital component of human life, significantly influencing individuals’ well-being. This study aims to explore the effect of sense of humor on individuals’ subjective well-being and the mediating roles of perspective-taking and emotional intelligence. A total of 1007 Chinese participants (M_age = 23.79, SD = 7.95) were recruited. The results showed that sense of humor, as well as the four dimensions of humor, positively affects individuals’ subjective well-being. Perspective-taking and emotional intelligence play roles as chain mediators between humor and subjective well-being. Moreover, the direct effects of sense of humor, attitude towards humor, humor production, and coping humor on subjective well-being are significant. However, the direct effect of humor appreciation on subjective well-being is not significant. Altogether, this study demonstrates how sense of humor, perspective-taking, and emotional intelligence contributes to subjective well-being.