Zhang Jun, Bu Yang-Ying, Zhu Wen-Li, Wang Fang, Song Chuan-Fu, Hu Qiang, Zheng Hui
Department of Psychiatry, The Fourth People's Hospital of Wuhu, Anhui, China.
Department of Psychological Measurement, The Fourth People's Hospital of Wuhu, Anhui, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Mar 11;25(1):227. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-06587-9.
Bus drivers face complex work challenges and high infection risks, particularly heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly affects their mental health. This study used network analysis to conduct a longitudinal follow-up of the psychological symptom network of bus drivers, utilizing the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R).
A repeated-measures self-controlled observational design was used to survey 1,600 intercity bus drivers in a city in southern Anhui, China, in September 2022 and January 2023, respectively, and participant data were analyzed using regularized partial correlation network analysis.
A total of 1134 (74.56%) completed the two surveys, 1121 (98.9%) were male, with a mean age of 47.3 ± 6.27 years, and all had junior high school education and above. The results showed a significant reduction in the severity of psychological symptoms among bus drivers the second time around. Anxiety remained the core symptom in the network; however, depression emerged as a secondary core symptom following the relaxation of policies related to COVID-19. Additionally, the weights of significant edges in the symptom network also changed.
Although this study lacked causal inference and relied on self-reported symptoms, it reveals changes in bus drivers' psychological symptom networks under two psychological physical examinations, highlighting the implications of COVID-19 and subsequent policy changes for future research and intervention to improve mental health among this population.
公交车司机面临复杂的工作挑战和高感染风险，尤其是在新冠疫情期间风险加剧，这对他们的心理健康产生了重大影响。本研究使用网络分析方法，利用症状自评量表90修订版（SCL - 90 - R）对公交车司机的心理症状网络进行纵向随访。
采用重复测量自我对照观察设计，分别于2022年9月和2023年1月对中国皖南某城市的1600名城际公交车司机进行调查，并使用正则化偏相关网络分析对参与者数据进行分析。
共有1134名（74.56%）完成了两次调查，其中男性1121名（98.9%），平均年龄为47.3±6.27岁，均具有初中及以上文化程度。结果显示，公交车司机第二次心理症状的严重程度显著降低。焦虑仍然是网络中的核心症状；然而，在新冠疫情相关政策放宽后，抑郁成为次要核心症状。此外，症状网络中显著边的权重也发生了变化。
尽管本研究缺乏因果推断且依赖自我报告症状，但它揭示了两次心理体检下公交车司机心理症状网络的变化，突出了新冠疫情及其后政策变化对该人群未来心理健康研究和干预的启示。
