The Relationship Between Negative Life Events And The Sense Of Meaning In Life In High School Students: The Moderating Role Of Rumination And Its Intervention

High school is the golden period of individual growth,as well as the key period of personality improvement.In recent years,the psychological problems of high school students have aroused wide attention,and the resulting tragic events have even become the focus of the whole society,such as the recent Hu Xinyu incident.A large number of studies have shown that high school students’ psychological problems and even suicidal behaviors are related to their lack of the sense of meaning in life.When entering high school,the requirements from family,school,and society have changed greatly,and the negative life events faced by high school students have also increased,to which they are prone to overreaction and negative emotions,resulting in their inability to effectively obtain the sense of meaning in life.Although previous studies have suggested that negative life events can affect high school students’ sense of meaning in life,more analysis is required.To be specific,firstly,it is necessary to provide further clarification on the intermediate variables that may exist in this process.Secondly,whether the relationship between variables is consistent at different research levels;Furthermore,whether the relationship between variables obtained in the theoretical research is reflected in the intervention practice.Based on this,the following three corresponding studies are carried out:In Study 1,a questionnaire survey was conducted to gather cross-sectional data from757 high school students attending various middle schools in Shanxi Province.The purpose of this survey was to investigate the connection between negative life events,rumination,and the sense of meaning in life.The results showed that:(1)negative life events significantly negatively predicted high school students’ sense of meaning in life.(2)The impact of negative life events on the sense of meaning in life was significantly moderated by rumination.Study 2 is divided into the pre-study and formal study.In the pre-study part,Daily Life Events Scale for High School Students with satisfactory reliability and validity was prepared.In the formal research part,132 high school students collected longitudinal data from the daily level through the diary method for 14 consecutive days,and the connection between negative life events,rumination,and sense of meaning in life of high school students was further explored in real life situations.The results showed that:(1)Daily negative life events significantly negatively predicted the level of high school students’ sense of daily meaning in life.(2)Rumination plays a significant moderating role in the influence of daily negative life events on the sense of daily meaning in life of high school students.Study 3 is based on the results of Studies 1 and 2,with reference to the existing intervention programs,to design corresponding courses.This paper tries to improve the sense of meaning in life of high school students by intervening their rumination.In the intervention process,a total of 88 students from two classes of senior one were randomly selected as the experimental group and the control group.The results showed that the experimental group significantly decreased their level of rumination and significantly enhanced their sense of meaning in life in comparison to the control group.This result not only shows the effectiveness of the intervention,but also provides practical validation of the results obtained in studies 1 and 2.Summarize the three studies and draw the following conclusions:(1)No matter at the general level or the daily level,negative life events negatively predicted the level of high school students’ sense of meaning in life.The sense of meaning in life among high school students was found to be influenced by negative life events,and rumination played a moderating role in this relationship.(2)The cognitive behavioral psychology course designed by this research can effectively reduce the level of rumination of high school students,and then play a certain role in improving the level of life meaning of high school students.This provides a novel approach to life education for high school students.