Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Background Adolescence is a critical period for coping with life stress and developing adaptive capacities. However, the interrelations among negative life events, psychological resilience, and theory of mind have rarely been characterized at the component level, and the direction of their associations remains unclear. The present study aimed to map the associations, central nodes, and probable directional dependencies among these three systems in adolescents. Methods A total of 1,191 adolescents (525 boys and 666 girls; aged 13–18 years, mean = 15.50, SD = 1.15) were recruited from 40 secondary vocational schools in Guangdong Province, China. Negative life events, psychological resilience, and theory of mind were assessed with the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and a comic-strip theory-of-mind task, respectively. Controlling for sex, age, and family socioeconomic status, we combined Gaussian graphical modeling with Bayesian network analysis to estimate the association structure, node centrality, and probable directional dependencies. Results The Gaussian graphical model revealed predominantly negative connections between negative life events and both resilience and theory of mind. The punishment factor showed the highest expected influence in the network, and the strength facet of resilience showed the highest bridge expected influence. The Bayesian network further indicated a bidirectional, domain-asymmetric pattern of directional dependence between stress and resilience: the “other” factor of negative life events pointed to the strength facet, whereas tenacity pointed to the interpersonal-relationship factor. Theory of mind showed no stable directional links with negative life events or resilience. Conclusions In adolescents, negative life events and psychological resilience constitute a dynamically interacting, directionally asymmetric adaptive system, whereas theory of mind—as a relatively stable social-cognitive capacity—appears to operate largely independently of this system. These findings provide component-level and directional evidence on stress–adaptation mechanisms in adolescents and suggest that interventions targeting punishment experiences and the strength facet of resilience may yield broader systemic benefits.</p>