Resilience moderates the relationship between ostracism and depression among Chinese adolescents

• Explore the moderating mechanism in the relation between ostracism and depression among adolescents.
• Resilience moderates the detrimental effect of ostracism on depression.
• The effect of ostracism on depression is stronger for individuals with low resilience.

Though ostracism often increases the risk for depression, the underlying processes that may moderate this relationship are largely unknown. Based on the diathesis–stress model of depression, the aim of this study is to examine the effect of resilience in the relation between ostracism and depression among adolescents. The Ostracism Experience Scale for Adolescents, Connor and Davidson's Resilience Scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were administered to 1126 adolescents in China. Results showed that, ostracism was positively associated with depression, while resilience was negatively associated with depression. Resilience was also found to moderate the association between ostracism and depression, with a stronger effect for individuals with low resilience. These results suggest that resilience could be a positive personality trait for alleviating the detrimental effect of ostracism, and are discussed in terms of their limitations and implications.