Psychological resilience and creativity among Chinese university students: a moderated mediation model of self-efficacy and meaning in life

Abstract Objective Integrating resilience theory, social cognitive theory, and meaning-making theory, this study examined whether self-efficacy mediates the association between psychological resilience and self-perceived creativity, and whether meaning in life moderates the first stage of this indirect pathway, in a sample of Chinese university students. Method A cross-sectional survey was completed by 1,228 Chinese university students ( M age = 19.53 years, 70.8% female; final sample retained from 1,456 initial responses after screening for incomplete data, failed attention checks, and insufficient response time). Participants completed validated Chinese measures of psychological resilience (CD-RISC), general self-efficacy (GSES), self-perceived creativity, and meaning in life (MLQ). PROCESS Model 7 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples tested the moderated mediation hypotheses. Discriminant validity of the four constructs was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis, Heterotrait–Monotrait ratios, and the Fornell–Larcker criterion. Results Three findings emerged. (H1) Psychological resilience was positively associated with self-perceived creativity. (H2) Self-efficacy was associated with a significant indirect pathway linking resilience to creativity across all levels of the moderator. (H3) Meaning in life significantly moderated the first-stage resilience–self-efficacy association, though the effect was small in magnitude (Cohen’s f² = 0.018). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the empirical distinctness of the four constructs, rejecting a single general positive factor model. Conclusions The results are consistent with self-efficacy operating as an indirect pathway linking trait resilience to self-perceived creativity, with meaning in life providing a small first-stage moderation. Because the design is cross-sectional and self-report, all findings are associational and the moderation is small in magnitude; they are best interpreted as preliminary, hypothesis-generating evidence requiring longitudinal and experimental confirmation.