Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 28;13(1):448.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02731-y.

Uncovering the complex interactions of mental health symptoms in Chinese college students: insights from network analysis

Wenshu Fan #  1 , Huoyin Zhang #  2   3 , Peng Lei  4 , Yue Tang  5 , Juan Du  6 , Junyi Li  7
Affiliations

Uncovering the complex interactions of mental health symptoms in Chinese college students: insights from network analysis

Wenshu Fan et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

Mental health problems are prevalent among Chinese college students, with gender differences in symptom presentation. Network analysis provides a novel approach to investigate the complex interactions between symptoms and identify gender differences in the structure and dynamics of mental health problems. Psychological assessment data were collected from 18,629 freshmen at a university in Chengdu, China, between 2020 and 2023. Gaussian Graphical Models and centrality indices were used to estimate and visualize symptom networks. Network comparison tests, accuracy and stability tests, and community detection were performed using R packages to examine gender differences. Mental health symptom networks differed across psychological distress levels. In the severe distress group, male and female students' networks exhibited significant differences in 10 edges and overall strength. Inferiority, depression, and anxiety emerged as central symptoms, and revealed by community detection. The single-university setting may limit the generalizability of the findings to other populations or cultural contexts. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inferences about symptom relationships. Network analysis offers valuable insights into the complex interactions of mental health symptoms among Chinese college students, highlighting gender differences in the severe distress group. The findings reveal central symptoms and distinct symptom clusters, underscoring the importance of developing targeted, personalized interventions that address these specific patterns of psychological distress. By illuminating the intricate structure of mental health networks, this research provides a foundation for more effective, tailored approaches to support student well-being in higher education settings.

Keywords: Fresh college students; Gender differences; Mental health; Network analysis; Psychological distress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Review Sub-committee of the Sichuan Psychological Society of China (NO. 2024029). All participants provided informed consent before their involvement in the study. They were assured of their anonymity and confidentiality throughout the study and were informed that their participation was voluntary. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: All authors acknowledge the order of attribution, there is no conflict of interest, and the manuscript has not been submitted to other journals.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Network of the entire sample(left) and expected impact index of each node (right)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Gender subgroup network (left for male, right for female)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Hunt J, Eisenberg D. Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students. J Adolesc Health. 2010;46(1):3–10. 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.08.008. - PubMed
    1. Bruffaerts R, Mortier P, Auerbach RP, Alonso J, De la Torre H, Cuijpers AE, Kessler P. Lifetime and 12-month treatment for mental disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among first year college students. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2019;28(2):e1764. 10.1002/mpr.1764. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American College Health Association. American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Spring. 2019. Silver Spring, MD: American College Health Association.2019. https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHAII_SPRING_2019_US_REFERENCE_GROU...
    1. Auerbach, R. P., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P.,… Kessler, R. C. WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project:Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology.2018, 127(7), 623–638. 10.1037/abn0000362. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bruffaerts, R., Mortier, P., Kiekens, G., Auerbach, R. P., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere,K.,… Kessler, R. C. Mental health problems in college freshmen: Prevalence and academic functioning. Journal of Affective Disorders.2018, 225, 97–103. 10.1016/j.jad.2017.07.044. - PMC - PubMed