ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1546197
Multidimensional Factors of Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Binary Logistic Regression
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Physical Education, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China, xuzhou, China
- 2School of Physical Education, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- 3Yanjing Medical College, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101300, China, Beijing, China
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This cross-sectional study investigates the interplay of lifestyle, behavioral, and psychosocial factors in predicting depressive symptoms among Chinese college students (N=508) using binary logistic regression. Participants were recruited from four geographically diverse provinces (Eastern: Shandong; Western: Shaanxi, Sichuan; Southern: Hainan) across 8 universities (5 comprehensive universities, 3 specialized institutions), with balanced urban (n=245, 48.22%) and rural (n=263, 51.78%) representation. Standardized scales assessed depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), perceived stress (PSS), academic procrastination (PASS), physical activity (PARS-3), cyberbullying victimization (CVQ), and alcohol use (AUDIT). Results revealed significant negative associations of sleep duration and physical activity with depressive symptoms (p<0.05), while academic procrastination, cyberbullying, perceived stress, and alcohol consumption showed significant positive predictive effects (p<0.01). Despite limitations of convenience sampling and cross-sectional design, findings suggest a complex interplay of multidimensional factors in college students' mental health. Early screening and comprehensive interventions targeting lifestyle, behavioral, and psychosocial domains are recommended. Further longitudinal and experimental studies are warranted to elucidate causal pathways and inform targeted prevention strategies in university settings.
Keywords: college students, depressive symptoms, lifestyle, Behavioral patterns, Psychosocial factors, Logistic regression
Received: 16 Dec 2024; Accepted: 26 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bai, Chen, Niu, Zhu, Zhao and Dong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yanyu Dong, Yanjing Medical College, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101300, China, Beijing, China
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