Abstract:

Objective To understand the core symptoms of depressive among college students in Guizhou Province and their relationship with coping styles，thereby providing evidence-based support for mental health interventions in universities. Methods From May to June 2023，4 379 undergraduate students from three universities in Guizhou were enrolled as survey subjects. A questionnaire survey was conducted using the patient health questionnaire and the simplified coping style questionnaire. Network analysis was employed to construct a network model of depressive symptoms and coping styles，calculating partial correlation coefficients and centrality indices to analyze their associations in detail. Results Strong bridging nodes were identified between depressive symptoms and coping styles. The strongest connections were observed between "Sleep difficulties" and "Using smoking，drinking，medication，or eating to relieve troubles" and between "Feelings of failure" and "Not taking problems too seriously"，with edge weights of 0.068 and -0.047，respectively. Centrality indices indicated that "Looking on the bright side of things" and "Feelings of failure" were the nodes with the highest strength centrality（both 1.15）. "Self-consolation" had the highest bridging strength（0.40），while "Seeking advice from relatives，friends，or classmates" had the highest betweenness centrality（126）. Conclusion Feelings of failure and lack of energy are the core depressive symptoms among college students in Guizhou，and there are functional pathways connecting them with coping styles. Targeting nodes with significant centrality indices for intervention may help alleviate depressive symptoms in this population.

Key words: University students, Depression, Coping styles, Network analysis, Mental health, Cross-sectional studies