Network analysis of characteristics of mental symptoms in vocational college freshmen
Objective:To explore the characteristics and associations of symptoms among freshmen in high vo-cational education with varied levels of mental health state.Methods:A sample of 3 601 freshman students from a vocational college in Zhejiang province was chosen to evaluate their mental health state by the University Personali-ty Inventory(UPI).Based on network analysis method(NAM),the core symptoms associated with various levels of mental health state were analyzed by using the Ising model,cross-network comparisons were conducted by using the Network Comparison Test(NCT).Results:Among students who might have severe psychological problems,the strongest association was found between low self-esteem symptoms,with the core symptoms primarily concerning e-motions and interpersonal issues(egde=1.36).Among students who might have mental block,the strongest associ-ation was between social avoidance symptoms,with the core symptoms mainly linked to low self-esteem(egde=1.89).NCT revealed that there were no significant differences in general strength(P＞0.05)among vocational col-lege freshmen at different mental health state.However,there were significant differences in network structures(P＜0.001).Conclusion:In varying levels of mental health,symptoms among higher vocational college freshmen are primarily characterized by interpersonal emotional issues with low self-esteem,and interpersonal avoidance issues with low self-esteem.The students who may have severe psychological problems would have closer network con-nections.
network theory of mental disordernetwork analysis methodUniversity Personality Inventory(UPI)mental health
万方数据
维普
