Vaca-Gallegos Silvia L, Peñaherrera-Aguirre Mateo, Batallas Daniela, Paladines-Costa Belén M, López-Nuñez Carla, Ruisoto Pablo
Department of Psychology, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador.
School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.
Front Public Health. 2025 Aug 14;13:1642529. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1642529. eCollection 2025.
University students face growingmental health challenges that demand both clinical and population-level strategies. Psychological inflexibility, perceived stress, and loneliness have been proposed as key transdiagnostic factors influencing mental health, yet their interrelationships remain unclear.
We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 7,905 students from 11 Ecuadorian universities. Validated instruments were used to assess psychological inflexibility (AAQ-II), perceived stress (PSS), loneliness (UCLA-3), anxiety and depression (PHQ-4), and life satisfaction (LSQ). Data were analysed using Sequential Canonical Analysis to examine direct and indirect associations among predictors and outcomes.
Analysis revealed a structured cascade: psychological inflexibility predicted perceived stress, which in turn predicted loneliness. All three variables contributed independently to mental health outcomes. Loneliness was the strongest predictor of anxiety, depression, and reduced life satisfaction, supporting its role as a chronic social stressor. Together, these factors explained 45% of the variance in a higher-order mental health factor and 35% of the variance in life satisfaction.
Findings underscore the need for integrated strategies in higher education that address both individual vulnerability and social isolation. Framed within Rose's distinction between the causes of individual cases and the causes of population incidence, results highlight loneliness as a central target for preventive and clinical interventions.
大学生面临着日益严峻的心理健康挑战，这需要临床和群体层面的策略。心理灵活性不足、感知压力和孤独感已被提出是影响心理健康的关键跨诊断因素，但其相互关系仍不明确。
我们对来自厄瓜多尔11所大学的7905名学生进行了横断面调查。使用经过验证的工具来评估心理灵活性不足（AAQ-II）、感知压力（PSS）、孤独感（UCLA-3）、焦虑和抑郁（PHQ-4）以及生活满意度（LSQ）。使用顺序典型分析法分析数据，以检验预测因素和结果之间的直接和间接关联。
分析揭示了一个结构化的级联关系：心理灵活性不足预测感知压力，而感知压力又预测孤独感。这三个变量均独立地对心理健康结果产生影响。孤独感是焦虑、抑郁和生活满意度降低的最强预测因素，支持了其作为慢性社会应激源的作用。这些因素共同解释了一个高阶心理健康因素中45%的变异以及生活满意度中35%的变异。
研究结果强调了高等教育中需要采取综合策略，以解决个体脆弱性和社会隔离问题。根据罗斯对个体病例原因和群体发病率原因的区分，研究结果突出了孤独感作为预防和临床干预的核心目标。
