A key feature of positive education is its focuson factors that can help students flourish. In the currentstudy, we examined the role of resilience in promotingoptimal mental health of Chinese secondary school stu-dents who suffered the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, China.In the earthquake central region, 518 participants recruitedin November 2008 about 6 months and 473 participantsrecruited 1 year after the earthquake, were assumed to havethe highest and mid-level disaster stress levels, respec-tively. 602 participants from areas unaffected by theearthquake in December 2008 were assumed to have thelowest stress level. Participants’ mental health and resi-lience were assessed by the clinical scales of the Cross-cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory forAdolescents and the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adoles-cents, respectively. Higher stress level participants reportedsignificantly lower resilience and higher mental healthproblems. Negative correlations between resilience andmental health problems were confirmed across the threegroups. Only supportive power resilience showed signifi-cant predictions on mental health problems in the twoearthquake groups. The implications on mental healthcounseling and positive education in Chinese secondaryschool students were discussed

• Contributions of Resilience to Mental Health in ChineseSecondary School Students at Different Disaster Stress Levels