Predicting Mental Health Based on Social Competence and Resilience in Divorced Individuals: The Moderating Roles of Gender and Remarriage
Keywords:
mental health, social competence, resilience, divorce, gender, remarriageAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to predict mental health based on social competence and resilience among divorced individuals and to examine the moderating roles of gender and remarriage status in these relationships.
Methods and Materials: The present applied study employed a descriptive-correlational design. The statistical population consisted of divorced men and women residing in Shiraz, Iran, and the final sample included 200 participants selected through convenience sampling from psychological and counseling centers and welfare service centers. Data were collected using the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, the Social Competence Questionnaire based on Felner’s model, and the 14-item Mental Health Continuum–Short Form. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, independent-samples t tests, multiple regression analysis, and subgroup regression analyses according to gender and remarriage status. Statistical significance was set at p < .05.
Findings: Mental health was positively and significantly correlated with behavioral skills (r = .740, p < .01), cognitive skills (r = .662, p < .01), emotional competence (r = .542, p < .01), and resilience (r = .611, p < .01). Social competence and resilience jointly explained 62.3% of the variance in mental health (R = .789, R² = .623, p < .001), with social competence (β = .601, p < .001) and resilience (β = .278, p < .001) both contributing significantly. Behavioral skills (β = .496, p < .001) and cognitive skills (β = .341, p < .001) significantly predicted mental health. Men reported significantly higher mental health than women, t(198) = -3.098, p = .002, and remarried participants reported significantly higher mental health than non-remarried participants, t(198) = 3.122, p = .002. Subgroup analyses showed significant positive predictive relationships for both social competence and resilience across gender and remarriage-status groups.
Conclusion: Social competence and resilience are important positive predictors of mental health among divorced individuals, while gender and remarriage status are associated with differences in mental health and in the strength of these predictive relationships. Strengthening interpersonal competence and resilience may therefore be useful in psychological and counseling interventions designed for divorced populations.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Sanaz Vali (Author); Reza Mirzaei (Corresponding author)
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