Mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction during COVID‐19: A cross‐country study of Thai and Chinese college students.

This study investigated the compensating mediating mechanism of resilience in the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction in Thai and Chinese college students during a risk period of coronavirus disease 2019 transmission. A total of 262 Thai and 247 Chinese college students were enrolled in the study between December 2020 and January 2021. A measurement model was constructed with the items of loneliness, resilience, and life satisfaction by using structural equation models. Subsequently, structural mediating models were constructed according to the valid items and a multigroup comparison was performed. The relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction differed significantly between Thai and Chinese college students as a result of the mediating effect of resilience. Resilience in Thai college students partly compensated for the negative influence of loneliness on life satisfaction, and resilience in Chinese college students compensated completely for the negative influence of loneliness on life satisfaction. Highlights: Resilience in Thai college students partially compensated for the negative influence of loneliness on life satisfaction.Resilience in Chinese college students fully compensated for the negative effect of loneliness on life satisfaction.Thai college students perceived much stronger feelings of loneliness with a greater negative effect on their life satisfaction than did the Chinese college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]