Effect of Resilience on Stress, Anxiety and Depression in Civil Servants: The Mediating and Moderating Model

Abstract Background: Civil servants are a special group in China, and there is limited research on how their resilience affects mental health, such as depression and anxiety. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to explore the role of resilience through the relationship between stress, depression and anxiety, and to further provide an explanation for how resilience interacts with stress, depression and anxiety in civil servants. Method: In a cross-sectional survey, 302 civil servants completed a battery of questionnaires. The Civil Servants Stress Scale (CSSS) was used to assess the stress of civil servants. The depression and anxiety of participants were evaluated by the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), respectively. The Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) was used to assess the stress of civil servants as well. We conducted the moderating and mediating models to the resilience, depression and anxiety in civil servants. Results: The results have shown that resilience was related to stress, depression, and anxiety in civil servants. Stress was positively correlated with resilience. On the contrary, stress was negatively associated with depression and anxiety. Conclusion: Resilience played the moderating and mediating roles for stress, depression and anxiety. Resilience can moderate the relationship between stress and depression, anxiety as a dynamic moderate mode. Improving resilience and reducing stress play a vital role in preventing depression and anxiety in civil servants.