Prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundStudies investigating the prevalence of positive mental health and its correlates are still scarce compared to the studies on mental disorders, although there is growing interest of assessing positive mental health in adolescents. So far, no other study examining the prevalence and determinants of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents has been found. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used a questionnaire including Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) and items regarding multiple aspects of adolescent life. The sample involved a total of 5399 students from grade 8 and 10 in Weifang, China. Multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between potential indicators regarding socio-economic situations, life style, social support and school life and positive mental health and calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.ResultsMore than half (57.4%) of the participants were diagnosed as flourishing. The correlated factors of positive mental health in regression models included gender, perceived family economy, the occurrence of sibling(s), satisfaction of self-appearance, physical activity, sleep quality, stress, social trust, desire to learn, support from teachers and parents as well as whether being bullied at school (OR ranging from 1.23 to 2.75). The Hosmer-Lemeshow p-value for the final regression model (0.45) indicated adequate model fit.ConclusionThis study gives the first overview on prevalence and correlates of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents. The prevalence of positive mental health in Chinese adolescents is higher than reported in most of the previous studies also using MHC-SF. Our findings suggest that adolescents with advantageous socio-economic situations, life style, social support and school life are experiencing better positive mental health than others.

Teacher Support and Mental Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Negative Emotions and Resilience

“…The results of this study show that the mediating effects of negative emotions and resilience may contribute to understanding the relationship between teacher support and mental well-being in a sample of Chinese adolescents. First, consistent with a prior study (Guo et al, 2018), we found that teacher support was a significant predictor of mental well-being. Together, this indicates that adolescents who receive more care and help from teachers tend to have a high level of mental well-being.…”

“…For instance, some studies found that support from teachers has a positive influence on adolescent psychological well-being, mental health, happiness, and satisfaction (Lau et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2014;Alivernini et al, 2019). Although many studies have demonstrated the association between teacher support and mental illness, such as depression (Pössel et al, 2018) and anxiety (Zhao and Li, 2017), only a few studies have explored the positive association between teacher support perceived by middle school students and positive mental health (Guo et al, 2018). More importantly, the mechanism underlying these protective resources and positive outcomes has yet to be identified.…”

“…Research has identified several variables that influence mental well-being, including resilience, depression, anxiety, and social support (Liu et al, 2009;Strange et al, 2015;Khawaja et al, 2017). However, more study is necessary to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between social support from teachers and mental well-being (Guo et al, 2018). Furthermore, mental well-being is important for the healthy development of adolescents (Singh et al, 2015).…”

Sibling influence on children’s objectively measured physical activity: a meta-analysis and systematic review

“…Physical activity is essential for optimal health and development in children and can positively contribute to prevention of excess weight gain, 1 cognitive performance, 2 motor development 3 and psychosocial health. 4 Modes of physical activity that often create beneficial moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) include sports participation, 5 6 active transport 7 and outdoor recreation.…”

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Generalized Trust Scale: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Rasch Models and Relationship with Quality of Life, Happiness, and Depression

“…Furthermore, there are benefits for mental health among individuals who have higher levels of trust. For instance, substantial evidence from the literature indicates that a higher level of trust is associated with better mental health and lower level of distress (Abbott and Freeth 2008;Fahmi et al 2019;Guo et al 2018;Sato et al 2018). Also, the literature suggests that people who have trust towards others are happier than those without trust (Tokuda et al 2010).…”