A cross-sectional network analysis of courage, fresh start mindset, and depression across gender and educational stage in adolescents

BackgroundAdolescent depression is a major public health concern. While most research has focused on risk factors, less is known about how protective psychological resources work together. This study examined the network of associations between courage, fresh start mindset (FSM), and depression, and whether the network configuration differed across gender and educational stage.MethodsA total of 18,484 Chinese adolescents completed measures of depression, courage, and FSM. We estimated Gaussian graphical models using graphical LASSO regularization, with model selection guided by the Extended Bayesian Information Criterion. Network Comparison Tests were used to compare network structure and global strength across gender and educational stage. Bridge expected influence was estimated under both theory-driven and data-driven community structures.ResultsAcross all networks, depression shared negative associations with FSM and multiple courage dimensions, while the courage dimensions and FSM were positively interconnected. Network structure varied significantly by gender and educational stage, yet global strength remained comparable, pointing to differences in the arrangement of specific edges rather than in overall connectivity. Under theory-driven communities, social-oriented responsibility courage (RES_S) exhibited the highest bridge expected influence, and FSM also showed consistently high bridging values. Under data-driven communities, FSM clustered with social courage in boys and junior high school students, but was grouped with depression and individual courage in girls and senior high school students.ConclusionCourage and FSM formed a dense network of protective associations. RES_S had the most prominent bridging connections, while FSM acted as a cognitive bridge whose network placement shifted across gender and educational stage. These patterns suggest that the estimated association structure among protective resources is broadly similar in overall connectivity but differs in configuration across developmental and gendered contexts, providing directions for future longitudinal and intervention research.