ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1578793
This article is part of the Research TopicBridging the Gap: Physical Manifestations and Mental Health in AdolescentsView all 6 articles
The Role of Healthy Personality, Psychological Flexibility, and Coping Mechanisms in University Students' Mental Health in China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Huangshan University, Huangshan, China
- 2MARA University of Technology, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
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Background: Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression have become increasingly common among Chinese university students, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the relationships between personality health, psychological flexibility, coping styles, and mental health in this population.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 2,528 university students (aged 18-25, 53.26% male). Personality was assessed using the MMPI, psychological flexibility via the AAQ and CFQ-F, and coping styles using the SCSQ. Mental health outcomes were gathered as part of a university-wide assessment.Results: After controlling for demographic variables, personality health, psychological flexibility, and coping styles were significantly associated with mental health. Psychological flexibility showed a moderate correlation (r = 0.454-0.660, p < 0.001). The final multivariate model, including psychological flexibility and coping styles, explained a moderate portion of variance in mental health (Adjusted R² = 0.4892, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Psychological flexibility and adaptive coping strategies play a key role in promoting mental health among university students. Targeted interventions in these areas-such as integrating them into university curricula and support programs-can help mitigate anxiety and depression. Though based on a Chinese sample, the findings align with global research, highlighting the crosscultural relevance of psychological flexibility in mental health interventions.
Keywords: Personality Health, Psychological flexibility, Coping mechanisms, Mental Health, university students
Received: 18 Feb 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Ilias, Anuar, Li, Wang and Li. 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: Kartini Ilias, MARA University of Technology, Shah Alam, 40450, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
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