Wang Siru, Yu Minglan, Zhang Xuemei, Huang Wenyi, Wang Tingting, Liu Kezhi, Xiang Bo
Department of Psychiatry, Fundamental and Clinical Research on Mental Disorders Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Medical Laboratory Center, Laboratory of Neurological Diseases & Brain Function, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, PR, 646000, China.
School of Humanities and Management Science, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, PR, 646000, China.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025 May 2. doi: 10.1007/s00787-025-02731-8.
Mental health concerns are growing more prevalent among students of school age. This study employed network analysis to view mental health problems as a network of interconnected symptoms, and to compare how these networks vary across different stages of school age. A sum of 60, 465 Chinese students in Grades 4 through 12 were selected to participate in the Middle School Student Mental Health Inventory (MMHI-60). The mental health network and bridge centrality were assessed through network analysis. Network comparison tests were performed to compare the networks among elementary, junior high, and senior high school students. 12.2% of elementary school students, 22.1% of junior high school students, and 24.9% of senior high school students exceeded the threshold for overall mental health issues as defined by the MMHI-60. The network analysis indicated that anxiety emerged consistently as a central dimension of mental health issues across all educational levels; paranoid ideation was prevalent in both junior and senior high school, whereas emotional disturbance was particularly characteristic of elementary school. Upon comparing the network structures, it was found that the mental health network connectivity was more pronounced among senior high school students, indicating closer associations between dimensions in this group. Identifying core mental health dimensions and their unique connections in school-aged students at each stage, especially the strong links between dimensions in senior high school students, is crucial for creating successful mental health dimension prevention and intervention strategies for students in educational settings.
心理健康问题在学龄学生中越来越普遍。本研究采用网络分析方法，将心理健康问题视为一个由相互关联的症状组成的网络，并比较这些网络在不同学龄阶段的差异。总共选取了60465名中国四至十二年级的学生参与中学生心理健康量表（MMHI - 60）测试。通过网络分析评估心理健康网络和桥梁中心性。进行网络比较测试，以比较小学生、初中生和高中生的网络。根据MMHI - 60的定义，12.2%的小学生、22.1%的初中生和24.9%的高中生存在整体心理健康问题。网络分析表明，焦虑始终是所有教育阶段心理健康问题的核心维度；偏执观念在初中和高中阶段都很普遍，而情绪困扰则是小学阶段的特别特征。比较网络结构发现，高中生的心理健康网络连通性更强，表明该群体各维度之间的关联更紧密。识别每个阶段学龄学生的核心心理健康维度及其独特联系，尤其是高中生各维度之间的紧密联系，对于在教育环境中为学生制定成功的心理健康维度预防和干预策略至关重要。
