Prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents

Fredrik Söderqvist,Cheng Guo,Göran Tomson,Christina Keller

doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5133-2

Abstract

BackgroundStudies investigating the prevalence of positive mental health and its correlates are still scarce compared to the studies on mental disorders, although there is growing interest of assessing positive mental health in adolescents. So far, no other study examining the prevalence and determinants of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents has been found. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used a questionnaire including Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) and items regarding multiple aspects of adolescent life. The sample involved a total of 5399 students from grade 8 and 10 in Weifang, China. Multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between potential indicators regarding socio-economic situations, life style, social support and school life and positive mental health and calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.ResultsMore than half (57.4%) of the participants were diagnosed as flourishing. The correlated factors of positive mental health in regression models included gender, perceived family economy, the occurrence of sibling(s), satisfaction of self-appearance, physical activity, sleep quality, stress, social trust, desire to learn, support from teachers and parents as well as whether being bullied at school (OR ranging from 1.23 to 2.75). The Hosmer-Lemeshow p-value for the final regression model (0.45) indicated adequate model fit.ConclusionThis study gives the first overview on prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents. The prevalence of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents is higher than reported in most of the previous studies also using MHC-SF. Our findings suggest that adolescents with advantageous socio-economic situations, life style, social support and school life are experiencing better positive mental health than others.

Highlights

Studies investigating the prevalence of positive mental health and its correlates are still scarce compared to the studies on mental disorders, there is growing interest of assessing positive mental health in adolescents
The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender, perceived family economy, sibling, satisfaction of self-appearance, physical activity, sleep quality, stress, social trust, desire to learn, teacher’s support, parental support and being bullied at school were significantly associated with positive mental health
With this indicator removed from the model, the multivariate logistic model was tested and proved to be the final model with all indicators significantly associated with positive mental health

Summary

Introduction

Studies investigating the prevalence of positive mental health and its correlates are still scarce compared to the studies on mental disorders, there is growing interest of assessing positive mental health in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents. The. Public Health Agency of Canada referred to positive mental health as being ‘the capacity of each and all of us to feel, think, and act in ways that enhance our ability to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face. Public Health Agency of Canada referred to positive mental health as being ‘the capacity of each and all of us to feel, think, and act in ways that enhance our ability to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face It is a positive sense of emotional and spiritual well-being that respects the importance of culture, equity, social justice, interconnections and personal dignity’ [5].

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