Centrality depression-anxiety symptoms linked to suicidal ideation among depressed college students--A network approach

doi:10.1002/pchj.668

. 2023 Oct;12(5):735-745.

doi: 10.1002/pchj.668. Epub 2023 Jul 11.

Centrality depression-anxiety symptoms linked to suicidal ideation among depressed college students--A network approach

Yanqiang Tao^{1

2}, Shujian Wang^{1

2}, Qihui Tang^{1

2}, Zijuan Ma³, Liang Zhang⁴, Xiangping Liu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China.
³ School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Student Mental Health Education Center, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.

PMID: 37433668
DOI: 10.1002/pchj.668

Centrality depression-anxiety symptoms linked to suicidal ideation among depressed college students--A network approach

Yanqiang Tao et al. Psych J. 2023 Oct.

. 2023 Oct;12(5):735-745.

doi: 10.1002/pchj.668. Epub 2023 Jul 11.

Authors

Yanqiang Tao^{1

2}, Shujian Wang^{1

2}, Qihui Tang^{1

2}, Zijuan Ma³, Liang Zhang⁴, Xiangping Liu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China.
³ School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Student Mental Health Education Center, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.

PMID: 37433668
DOI: 10.1002/pchj.668

Abstract

The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused severe mental health problems among college students, which can eventually cause suicidal ideation. Therefore, through network analysis, this study aims to explore the new characteristics of the depression-anxiety symptom network that arose during the long-term lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the most influential symptoms linked to suicidal ideation. We used a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score above 10 as the cutoff and screened 622 participants with an inclination toward depressive disorders from 7976 college students, and then divided the sample into suicidal and nonsuicidal groups based on the presence or absence of suicidal ideation. The General Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) was also used. Network analysis was used to identify the network structure of anxiety-depression and which symptoms were directly related to suicidal ideation in the network. The prevalence of depression and anxiety among Chinese college students in the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic was 7.8% and 17.8%, respectively. The most central symptoms in the nonsuicidal group were "excessive worry," "uncontrollable worry," and "nervousness," and in the suicidal group they were "excessive worry," "motor function," and "irritability." The network of the suicidal group was denser than that of the nonsuicidal group. The most influential symptom directly related to suicidal ideation was "guilt." The most influential central symptom of depression-anxiety comorbidity characteristics of Chinese adolescents showed a tendency to shift from depression-oriented (i.e., sad mood) to anxiety-oriented (i.e., excessive worry) with the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Treatments or interventions focused on these critical symptoms could be useful in preventing college students from suicide risk.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; network analysis; suicidal ideation.

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References

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1. Adnan. (2020). Online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Students perspectives. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 1(2), 45-51. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.2020261309
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1. Arango, A., Opperman, K. J., Gipson, P. Y., & King, C. A. (2016). Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among youth who report bully victimization, bully perpetration and/or low social connectedness. Journal of Adolescence, 51(1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.05.003
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[1] Adnan. (2020). Online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Students perspectives. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 1(2), 45-51. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.2020261309

[2] Adnan. (2020). Online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Students perspectives. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 1(2), 45-51. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.2020261309

[3] Altar, C. A. (1999). Neurotrophins and depression. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 20(2), 59-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0165-6147(99)01309-7

[4] Altar, C. A. (1999). Neurotrophins and depression. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 20(2), 59-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0165-6147(99)01309-7

[5] Arango, A., Opperman, K. J., Gipson, P. Y., & King, C. A. (2016). Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among youth who report bully victimization, bully perpetration and/or low social connectedness. Journal of Adolescence, 51(1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.05.003

[6] Arango, A., Opperman, K. J., Gipson, P. Y., & King, C. A. (2016). Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among youth who report bully victimization, bully perpetration and/or low social connectedness. Journal of Adolescence, 51(1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.05.003

[7] Bareeqa, S. B., Ahmed, S. I., Samar, S. S., Yasin, W., Zehra, S., Monese, G. M., & Gouthro, R. V. (2021). Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in China during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review with meta-analysis. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 56(4), 210-227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091217420978005

[8] Bareeqa, S. B., Ahmed, S. I., Samar, S. S., Yasin, W., Zehra, S., Monese, G. M., & Gouthro, R. V. (2021). Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in China during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review with meta-analysis. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 56(4), 210-227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091217420978005

[9] Beard, C., Millner, A. J., Forgeard, M. J., Fried, E. I., Hsu, K. J., Treadway, M. T., Leonard, C. V., Kertz, S. J., & Bjorgvinsson, T. (2016). Network analysis of depression and anxiety symptom relationships in a psychiatric sample. Psychological Medicine, 46(16), 3359-3369. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291716002300

[10] Beard, C., Millner, A. J., Forgeard, M. J., Fried, E. I., Hsu, K. J., Treadway, M. T., Leonard, C. V., Kertz, S. J., & Bjorgvinsson, T. (2016). Network analysis of depression and anxiety symptom relationships in a psychiatric sample. Psychological Medicine, 46(16), 3359-3369. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291716002300

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Centrality depression-anxiety symptoms linked to suicidal ideation among depressed college students--A network approach

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Centrality depression-anxiety symptoms linked to suicidal ideation among depressed college students--A network approach

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