A study on the characteristics of mental health of postgraduates of professional degree

Abstract

Objective To explore the mental health status and characteristics of professional degree postgraduates. Methods 326 professional degree postgraduates from 3 universities were selected as subjects by cluster sampling. Symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90) was applied to assess psychological health of the postgraduates in order. Results 1) The positive rate of psychological symptom screening was 11.11%. The detection rate of psychological problems from high to low was: obsessive-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, hostility, somatization, paranoid ideation, anxiety, phobic anxiety and psychoticism. 2) Excluding the factors of phobic anxiety, there was significant age difference in each factor score and total score of SCL-90 (P<0.05). The somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, hostility, paranoid ideation, psychoticism factor scores and total score of the ≥30 years group was significantly higher than those of ≤24 years and the 25-29 years group (P<0.05), the depression factor scores of ≥30 years was significantly higher than the ≤24 years group (P<0.01). 3) The scores of somatizations (P=0.038) and obsessive-compulsive factors (P=0.043) of doctoral students were significantly higher than those of master students. 4) In different grades, there were significant differences in the scores of obsessive-compulsives, depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoid ideation factor scores and SCL-90 total score (P<0.05). The factor scores and total score of the Grade Three were significantly higher than those of the first grade (P<0.05), and the scores of hostilities, paranoid ideation factors and total score were significantly higher than those of the second grade (P<0.05). 5) Excluding phobic anxiety, the factor scores and total score of SCL-90 in the peace and tranquility group were significantly lower than those of quarrel group (P<0.05). 6) Except for somatization and paranoia ideation, the factor scores and total score of SCL-90 of caring group were significantly lower than those non-caring group (P<0.05). Conclusion The psychological health of graduate students of professional degree varies with age, educational level and grade, and is influenced by collective atmosphere and mentor attitude. The differences in the characteristics of the crowd should be taken into full consideration in the mental health education of colleges and universities, and the educational model should be explored, the educational goals, contents and forms should be refined to improve the mental health level of the population. Key words: Professional degree graduates; Mental health; Psychological problems; Symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90)