To explore the mediating effect of life meaning and subjective well-being during college students' values influence depression, providing insights for reducing college students' depression.

Utilizing a longitudinal approach, the study employed four scales of assessing Chinese adolescent values, sense of life meaning, subjective well-being, and depression to conduct a two-year follow-up survey of 576 university students (September 2021 T1; September 2023 T2). Three multiple chained mediation models were constructed and analyzed using PROCESS Model 6.

Across the two waves, students' endorsement of collective responsibility [(3.74±0.67)(3.64±0.65)] and self-improvement [(3.78±0.75)(3.54±0.73)] decreased, while personal happiness [(3.46±0.77)(3.70±0.71)] and depression levels [(0.92±0.43)(0.99±0.50)] increased. Personal happiness T1 negatively predicted depression T2 (β=-0.21) by enhancing subjective well-being T2 (β=0.20), with a mediation effect of -0.04 (95%CI=-0.07 to -0.02)(all P < 0.01). Self-improvement T1 negatively predicted depression T2(β=-0.08, -0.20) by increasing sense of life meaning T2 (β=0.49) and through a serial mediation (sense of life meaning T2 →subjective well-being T2, β=0.29), with mediation effects of -0.04 (95%CI=-0.06 to -0.02) and -0.03 (95%CI=-0.04 to -0.02)(all P < 0.01). Collective responsibility negatively T1 predicted depression T2 (β=-0.08, -0.21) via separate pathways (sense of life meaning T2: β=0.29; subjective well-being T2: β=0.17) and a serial mediation (sense of life meaning T2→ subjective well-being T2, β=0.28), with mediation effects of -0.02 (95%CI=-0.04 to -0.01), -0.04 (95%CI=-0.07 to -0.01) and -0.02 (95%CI=-0.03 to -0.01)(all P < 0.01).

The three values influence depression through distinct psychological mechanisms, providing a basis for mental health interventions and values education.