ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
This article is part of the Research TopicAdolescent Emotional Disorders and Suicide Self-Harm Crisis InterventionView all 34 articles
Exploring the Diversity and Determinants of Various Depression Symptoms in Youth: Analysis based on the Living Environments of University Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China
- 2Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China
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Abstract Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and determinants of depression and subthreshold depression among Chinese university students, with a focus on the influence of demographic, behavioral, and academic factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 3,600 undergraduates from five universities in central China using the CES-D scale and a self-designed lifestyle questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression and ANOVA were employed to identify risk and protective factors. Results: The overall depression detection rate was 25.60%, with 9.97% classified as subthreshold depression. Male gender, senior year, low family income, and major dissatisfaction were significant risk factors. Regular exercise served as a protective factor, while excessive smartphone use, smoking, alcohol use, and family history of mental illness were associated with increased risk. A dose-response relationship was observed between major satisfaction and depression severity. Conclusion: The findings support a spectrum-based view of depression and highlight the need for multidimensional, personalized mental health interventions targeting high-risk student subgroups.
Keywords: college students, depression rate, Depressive mood, Risk factors, sub-threshold depression detection rate
Received: 24 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 WU, Zhou, Hu and Liu. 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: Hairong Liu
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