From Adolescent Stress Mindset to Positive Behavior: The Moderation Role of Social Support and Sex Differences

Based on the mindset × context framework, the interplay between individual mindsets and social context factors should be considered together while analyzing mindset’s effects on developmental outcomes. This study focuses on how stress mindsets might interact with social support to predict two positive behaviors (personal growth initiative and strengths use) in adolescents using a moderation model and whether a such mechanism differs across sex via a moderated moderation model. Participants were 620 high school students aged 14 to 19 years (M = 17.51, SD = 1.23), from diverse U.S. regions, who completed an online self-report survey in spring 2022. Statistical analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. The results showed that the moderation effect in the single moderation model was not significant, while all interaction terms were statistically significant in the moderated moderation model. Specifically, the magnitude of the positive relation between stress mindset and strengths use was weaker at higher levels of social support among males; however, this relation was stronger when the social support level was high for females, showing the opposite trend. Overall, the results support the mindset × context framework and highlight the different mechanisms by which mindsets and social support work together between males and females.