Chinese College Students Research Articles

Stability and changes in meaning in life profiles and their impact on mental health among chinese university students: a latent transition analysis

BackgroundResearch on meaning in life (MIL) has predominately adopted variable-centered approaches. The few person-centered studies conducted were generally cross-sectional in nature and have failed to address changes in MIL. Furthermore, few studies have explored the stability of and changes in MIL on wellbeing.MethodsWe used latent transition analysis (LTA) to assess the MIL profiles of Chinese university students and to relate their experiences of meaning to their wellbeing. Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Mental Health Continuum Short Form were applied. In total, 317 students from five universities in Hong Kong participated in the survey at two time points 9 months apart.ResultsThe LTA identified three distinct profiles among the participants: meaning-oriented, bewildered, and indifferent. The LTA mover–stayer model revealed the relative stability of the students’ MIL profiles over 9 months. Specifically, the indifferent profile group was the most unstable, with a stability of 66.6%, suggesting that a significant portion of students in this group changed profiles. Conversely, the bewildered profile group had the greatest number of movers (64.8%), indicating a higher degree of flux within this group as well. Regarding the adaptive outcomes associated with each profile, results showed that students in the meaning-oriented profile group demonstrated the most adaptive outcomes, evidenced by the highest wellbeing scores and the lowest anxiety and depression scores among all the students.ConclusionThese findings provide insights into MIL profiles and how they change among Chinese university students. We also identified a relatively adaptive profile. Overall, these findings have practical implications and can contribute to advancing research on mental health and meaning.

Predictors of depression among Chinese college students: a machine learning approach

BackgroundDepression is highly prevalent among college students, posing a significant public health challenge. Identifying key predictors of depression is essential for developing effective interventions. This study aimed to analyze potential depression risk factors among Chinese college students using the Random Forest Algorithm (RFA) and to explore gender differences in risk patterns.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 10,043 undergraduate students from Guizhou Normal University. Thirty-three variables were analyzed using RFA. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), with a score of ≥ 16 indicating depression risk. The variables included sociodemographic characteristics, physical and psychological health indicators, behavioral and lifestyle factors, socioeconomic conditions, and family mental health history.ResultsThe RFA identified several factors associated with depression risk, with suicidal ideation, anxiety, and sleep quality exhibiting the strongest associations. Other significant predictors included academic stress, BMI, vital capacity, psychological resilience, physical fitness test scores, major satisfaction, and social network use. The model achieved an accuracy of 87.5% and an AUC of 0.927. Gender-stratified analysis suggested different patterns: physical fitness indicators showed stronger associations with depression risk among male students, while BMI was more strongly associated with depression risk among female students.ConclusionsThis cross-sectional study identified factors associated with depression risk among Chinese college students, with psychological factors showing the strongest associations. Gender-specific patterns were observed, suggesting the importance of considering gender differences when developing mental health interventions. However, longitudinal studies are required to establish causal relationships and validate these findings through intervention trials.

Social Class and Career Decision Self-Efficacy: Roles of Career Social Support and Birthplace

While previous research has shown that social class is positively correlated with career decision self-efficacy (CDSE), how this relationship develops is unclear. This study tested the mediating effect of career social support on the link between subjective social class and CDSE and the moderating role of birthplace in the mediation model. A survey was completed among 388 Chinese college students. The results revealed that subjective social class could positively predict CDSE via career social support. For urban students, subjective social class was positively related to career social support, and it was indirectly related to CDSE via career social support. For rural students, subjective social class was positively related to CDSE. Finally, the implications for career education and counseling in Chinese college students are discussed.

How to help children succeed: the impact of parenting styles on access to quality higher education

What type of parenting style can help children succeed? Academic discussions on this issue are divided into two different theoretical perspectives: cultural reproduction and cultural mobility. This study uses data from the 2017 Survey on the Social Mentality of Chinese College Students to empirically analyze the impact of parenting styles on children’s access to quality higher education. The results indicate that parenting styles not only act as an intermediary mechanism of family socioeconomic status in influencing children’s access to quality higher education but also have an independent effect. Among the various parenting styles, permissive parenting style is more conducive to children gaining admission to elite universities.

Effects of Fitness App-Based Slow Jogging Intervention on Physical Fitness among Chinese Obese College Students

Effects of Fitness App-Based Slow Jogging Intervention on Physical Fitness among Chinese Obese College Students

The relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep disorder among college students: negative emotions as a mediator and gender as a moderator

BackgroundCollege students are disproportionately affected by smartphone addiction, which has been linked to various health impairments, including sleep disorders. This study explores the relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep disorders, with a focus on negative emotions as a mediator and gender as a moderator.MethodsCluster sampling was used to survey 1056 Chinese college students. The Mobile Phone Addiction Index, Negative Affect Scale, and Sleep Disorder Scale were administered. Versions of SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS macro 4.0 were used for data analysis, employing Models 15 and 4 to examine moderation and mediation, respectively.ResultsA strong direct correlation was identified between smartphone addiction and sleep disorder, with negative emotions mediating this relationship, accounting for 33.7% of the effect. Gender significantly moderated the mediation process, with females demonstrating a greater correlation than males between sleep disorders and negative emotions.ConclusionNegative emotions partially mediated smartphone addiction’s association with sleep disorder, whereas gender significantly moderated this mediation. These findings underscore the complex dynamics among smartphone addiction, emotional well-being, and sleep among college students.

What drives Chinese university students’ long-term use of GenAI? Evidence from the heuristic-systematic model

What drives Chinese university students’ long-term use of GenAI? Evidence from the heuristic-systematic model

The Role of Multi-Shuttle Training in Rear-Court Techniques in Badminton: A Study of Chinese University Students

The Role of Multi-Shuttle Training in Rear-Court Techniques in Badminton: A Study of Chinese University Students

The influence of childhood trauma on social media-induced secondary traumatic stress among college students: the chain mediating effect of self-compassion and resilience

ABSTRACT Background: Studies have shown that media exposure to critical public events can lead to secondary traumatic stress (STS). Personal trauma history, self-compassion and resilience are important factors influencing STS in healthy professionals. However, whether these variables are associated with social media-induced STS in college students and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the complex relationship linking childhood trauma to social media-induced STS in a large sample of college students. Methods: A total of 1151 Chinese college students from Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China completed a web-based cross-sectional survey, which included standard assessments of childhood trauma, self-compassion, resilience and social media-induced STS, as well as sociodemographic questionnaires. The chain mediation model was tested using the PROCESS macro programme in SPSS software. Results: There was a moderate correlation between childhood trauma and social media-induced STS (r = 0.34, p < .001). This association was significantly mediated by self-compassion (indirect effect [95% CI] = 0.14[0.11, 0.17]) and resilience (indirect effect = 0.03[0.01, 0.04]), respectively. Further, a chained mediating effect was observed with self-compassion and resilience consecutively mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and social media-induced STS (indirect effect = 0.02[0.01, 0.03]). These results persisted after sociodemographic characteristics were included as controlling variables. Conclusions: Early life trauma impacts STS induced by exposure to traumatic materials on social media through self-compassion and resilience among Chinese college students. Psychological interventions targeting self-compassion and resilience can be implemented to reduce the risk of STS, especially in vulnerable individuals.

The Mandarin Chinese auditory emotions stimulus database: A validated corpus of monosyllabic Chinese characters.

Auditory emotional rhythm can be transmitted by simple syllables. This study aimed to establish and validate an auditory speech dataset containing Mandarin Chinese auditory emotional monosyllables (MCAE-Monosyllable), a resource that has not been previously available. A total of 422 Chinese monosyllables were recorded by six professional Mandarin actors, each expressing seven emotions: neutral, happy, angry, sad, fearful, disgusted, and surprised. Additionally, each neutral voice was recorded in four Chinese tones. After standardization and energy balance, the recordings were evaluated by 720 Chinese college students for emotional categories (forced to choose one out of seven emotions) and emotional intensity (rated on a scale of 1-9). The final dataset consists of 18,089 valid Chinese monosyllabic pronunciations (neutrality: 9425, sadness: 2453, anger: 2024; surprise: 1699, disgust: 1624, happiness: 590, fear: 274). On average, neutrality had the highest accuracy rate (79%), followed by anger (75%) and sadness (75%), surprise (74%), happiness (73%), disgust (72%), and finally fear (67%). We provided detailed validation results, acoustic information, and perceptual intensity rating values for each sound. The MCAE-Monosyllable database serves as a valuable resource for neural decoding of Chinese emotional speech, cross-cultural language research, and behavioral or clinical studies related to language and emotional disorders. The database can be obtained within the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/h3uem/?view_only=047dfd08dbb64ad0882410da340aa271 ).

Longitudinal relationship between internet addiction and psychotic-like experiences among Chinese college students.

While previous cross-sectional studies have suggested a link between psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and internet addiction (IA), longitudinal evidence remains scarce. This study aimed to explore the prospective relationship between IA and PLEs among college students. A total of 636 college students (80% female) were assessed in November 2022 and again one year later. IA was measured using the Internet Addiction Diagnosis Questionnaire (IADQ), and PLEs were assessed with the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16). Demographic, psychological, and environmental factors were collected and controlled. Multiple logistic regression and cross-lagged panel analyses examined the longitudinal associations between IA and PLEs. At baseline, the prevalence of IA and PLEs was 11.3% and 16.8%, respectively. Higher baseline IADQ scores (Adjusted odds ratio=1.035; 95% confidence interval=1.002-1.069; p=0.036) were independently associated with an increased risk of PLEs at follow-up, while baseline PQ-16 scores were not linked to later IA. Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that IA at baseline predicted later PLEs (β=0.082, p=0.043), whereas baseline PLEs did not predict IA (β=0.049, p=0.255). Specifically, IA predicted unusual thoughts (β=0.122, p=0.003) and negative PLEs (β=0.111, p=0.008), but not perceptual abnormalities (β=0.040, p=0.301). IA may be an independent risk factor for PLEs in college students, particularly for unusual thoughts and negative PLEs, but not for perceptual abnormalities. Targeted interventions addressing IA may help reduce PLEs.

The relationship between mindfulness and learning engagement in Chinese university students: The serial mediating role of self-esteem and self-control

The relationship between mindfulness and learning engagement in Chinese university students: The serial mediating role of self-esteem and self-control

Effects of critical thinking instruction on Chinese college students with varying baseline critical thinking abilities: A quasi‐experimental study

AbstractThis study aimed to contribute to the substantial body of research on critical thinking (CT) interventions by determining whether the effectiveness of two CT interventions (generic and infusion) varied according to students' baseline CT levels. Using a quasi‐experimental design, we collected data from two universities, with 167 participants from University A and 76 from University B. Students' CT skills were measured before and after the interventions using the National Assessment of Collegiate Capacity (NACC) CT assessment. The analysis employed paired t‐tests to evaluate within‐group changes and independent t‐tests with moderation analysis to compare CT gains between experimental and control groups across different baseline CT performance levels. Results showed that infusion CT interventions, rather than generic CT interventions, had a beneficial effect on these students' CT. Notably, the effectiveness of these interventions depended on students' baseline level of CT skills, suggesting that, while CT interventions may not result in substantial improvements for students with high and low baseline levels of CT skills, those with moderate levels can benefit significantly from these interventions. This study contributes to research on the effectiveness of embedding CT within course contents and differentiation based on baseline skills in maximising the impact of CT interventions within an educational context.

Effectiveness of a pre-test/post-test model in HPV health education among undergraduate medical students

BackgroundThe HPV vaccination rate of Chinese college students remains low. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide health education regarding HPV vaccination among college students in China. We used a pre-test/post-test model to implement a health education intervention for the HPV vaccine among undergraduate medical students and subsequently evaluated its effectiveness.MethodsA total of 180 undergraduate medical students who were attending classes at the gynaecological department of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from October 2022 to March 2023 were selected for inclusion in the study. Before class, all students completed a questionnaire and a pre-class quiz to obtain key points in the course. The class regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine was taught by senior teachers. After the course, all students completed a post-class quiz consisting of the same questions as the pre-class quiz. The pre-class and post-class scores were compared to evaluate the effectiveness of this teaching model.ResultsAfter the HPV health education intervention in the pre-test/post-test model, the post-class scores were significantly higher than the pre-class scores for different gender, years of study, clinical majors, different willingness of vaccine to receive the vaccine(p < 0.05).ConclusionA pre-test/post-test model may be an effective approach for HPV health education interventions.

How Does Trait Anger Associate With Aggression Among Chinese College Students? The Role of Anger Rumination and Locus of Control

How Does Trait Anger Associate With Aggression Among Chinese College Students? The Role of Anger Rumination and Locus of Control

Hoarding knowledge or hoarding stress? Investigating the link between digital hoarding and cognitive failures among Chinese college students

Hoarding knowledge or hoarding stress? Investigating the link between digital hoarding and cognitive failures among Chinese college students

Analysis of factors influencing HPV vaccination intention among Chinese college students: structural equation modeling based on health belief theory

Analysis of factors influencing HPV vaccination intention among Chinese college students: structural equation modeling based on health belief theory

Unveiling factors affecting college students’ online self-directed learning: logit-ISM model analysis

ABSTRACT The ubiquity of online education in college settings underscores the importance of investigating the influencing factors of online self-directed learning effectiveness. Such exploration not only contributes to theoretical advancements but also offers practical insights for enhancing college students’ academic quality, fostering the growth of online education, and reforming teaching methodologies in higher education institutions. This paper undertakes an analysis of the influencing factors and their hierarchical logical structure concerning college students’ efficacy in self-directed learning within the online environment. Leveraging survey data obtained from a random sample of 966 Chinese college students, the study employs the Logit-ISM (Interpretative Structural Modeling) model. Findings reveal that various factors including college students’ grade, parental educational background, employment difficulty, network resource application, self-planning, self-drive, self-assessment, goal-orientation, self-management, and self-discipline abilities positively impact the online self-directed learning effectiveness. Moreover, results from the ISM demonstrate that self-drive, goal-orientation and self-management abilities directly influence online self-directed learning effectiveness, while self-planning, self-assessment and network resource application abilities indirectly contribute to this effectiveness. Furthermore, factors such as employment difficulty, grade, parental educational background and self-discipline ability are identified as fundamental determinants underlying online self-directed learning effectiveness.

Relationship Between Career Adaptability and Competitive Attitudes Among Chinese College Students.

Previous research highlights the strong correlation between certain personality traits and individual career adaptability levels, yet the role of competitive personality remains underexplored. This study aims to fill the gaps by assessing the relationship between competitive attitudes and career adaptability among Chinese college students. A multi-stage stratified random sampling approach was used to conduct a cross-sectional survey of 692 undergraduate students from a top university in China. The final sample comprised 22.11% females and 77.89% males, aged 18-24, with a mean age of 19.54 years (SD = 2.16). Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were utilized to examine the relationship between competitive attitudes and career adaptability. Results showed that the average scores among college students were 10.068 for feelings for competition, 8.876 for beliefs about competition, and 7.802 for behavioral tendencies of competition. Significant gender differences were observed across all three dimensions (p < 0.01). In terms of career adaptability, the average scores for career concern, career control, career curiosity, and career confidence were 14.802, 15.601, 15.678, and 15.828, respectively, with no significant gender differences. Feelings for the competition had significantly negative impacts on career control and career curiosity (with coefficients of -0.149 and -0.110, respectively). Conversely, beliefs about competition had significant positive effects on career concern, control, curiosity, and confidence (with coefficients of 0.223, 0.200, 0.207, and 0.162, respectively). The findings suggest that feelings for competition hinder the development of career adaptability, whereas beliefs about competition contribute positively to enhancing career adaptability.

The role of prosocial tendencies in the relationships between gratitude, perceived social support, and psychological well-being among Chinese university students: a structural equation modeling approach

IntroductionThis study explores the relationships among gratitude, perceived social support, prosocial tendencies, and psychological well-being (PWB) in Chinese university students. Despite growing interest in these constructs, the mechanisms through which gratitude and social support influence PWB remain underexplored, particularly in collectivist cultural contexts where social harmony and interdependence are prioritized.MethodsData were collected from 703 Chinese university students using validated instruments measuring gratitude, perceived social support, prosocial tendencies, and psychological well-being. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the direct and indirect effects of gratitude and social support on PWB, with prosocial tendencies modeled as a mediating higher-order factor. Multi-group SEM analysis was conducted to examine gender invariance.ResultsGratitude and perceived social support significantly predicted PWB, both directly and indirectly through prosocial tendencies. Gratitude had a strong positive effect on prosocial tendencies (β = 0.412, p &amp;lt; 0.001), which, in turn, significantly contributed to PWB (β = 0.465, p &amp;lt; 0.001). Similarly, perceived social support positively influenced prosocial tendencies (β = 0.375, p &amp;lt; 0.001) and PWB (β = 0.253, p &amp;lt; 0.05). Mediation analysis confirmed that prosocial tendencies partially mediated these relationships. Multi-group SEM analysis revealed structural invariance across gender.DiscussionThe findings underscore the cultural relevance of gratitude and social support within Chinese society, emphasizing the role of collectivist values in fostering PWB. Practical implications include implementing gratitude-focused interventions and enhancing peer support systems within university mental health programs to promote resilience and well-being among students.