Associations between Chinese college students' anxiety and depression: A chain mediation analysis

PLoS One. 2022 Jun 2;17(6):e0268773. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268773. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Objective: Anxiety and depression are great public health concerns among college students. The purpose of this study was to explore whether sleep quality and quality of life (QoL) play mediating roles in anxiety and depression among Chinese college students.

Method: A total of 2757 college students (mean age = 19.07; SD = 1.14) completed the questionnaires, including a brief demographic survey. The 2-item General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2) and the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) were used to assess the symptoms of anxiety and depression, respectively. And the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) were used to evaluate college students' sleep quality and QoL, respectively. Mediation analyses were conducted by using PROCESS macro in the SPSS software.

Result: Anxiety had both direct and indirect effects on depression. Sleep quality and QoL were not only independent mediators in the relationship between anxiety and depression but also chain mediators.

Conclusion: The results of the current study highlight the crucial role of early intervention for depression with a focus on college students with anxiety, more especially, on those with poorer sleep quality and lower QoL.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anxiety / epidemiology
  • Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology
  • China / epidemiology
  • Depression / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Mediation Analysis*
  • Quality of Life*
  • Students
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

Anhui Province Quality Engineering (2020jyxm2086; 2015zjjh017), Talent Project of Education Department of Anhui Province (gxfx2017070; gxyqZD2017066), and Talents Program for Academic Leaders and Reserve Candidates of Wannan Medical College (No. School Administration Letter [2021] No. 46), National innovation and Entrepreneurship Project(202010368003).