Mental health problems are prevalent among Chinese college students, with gender differences in symptom presentation. Network analysis provides a novel approach to investigate the complex interactions between symptoms and identify gender differences in the structure and dynamics of mental health problems. Psychological assessment data were collected from 18,629 freshmen at a university in Chengdu, China, between 2020 and 2023. Gaussian Graphical Models and centrality indices were used to estimate and visualize symptom networks. Network comparison tests, accuracy and stability tests, and community detection were performed using R packages to examine gender differences. Mental health symptom networks differed across psychological distress levels. In the severe distress group, male and female students’ networks exhibited significant differences in 10 edges and overall strength. Inferiority, depression, and anxiety emerged as central symptoms, and revealed by community detection. The single-university setting may limit the generalizability of the findings to other populations or cultural contexts. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inferences about symptom relationships. Network analysis offers valuable insights into the complex interactions of mental health symptoms among Chinese college students, highlighting gender differences in the severe distress group. The findings reveal central symptoms and distinct symptom clusters, underscoring the importance of developing targeted, personalized interventions that address these specific patterns of psychological distress. By illuminating the intricate structure of mental health networks, this research provides a foundation for more effective, tailored approaches to support student well-being in higher education settings.

Introduction: Professional psychological qualities are crucial for individuals’ career development and overall well-being, especially in clinical medical professions. Medical students often face significant work, academic, and doctor-patient communication pressures, which can challenge their mental and emotional health. Measuring and understanding the relationship between medical students’ professional psychological qualities and their mental health is of significant practical importance.Methods: This study developed a comprehensive professional psychological qualities scale through a series of qualitative and quantitative studies, consisting of three main components and thirteen secondary dimensions. The scale’s reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s α coefficients. In Study 2, the scale was administered to 972 medical students to explore their anxiety and depression levels. A simple mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between professional psychological qualities, anxiety, and depression.Results: The professional psychological qualities scale demonstrated satisfactory reliability, with a total scale α coefficient of 0.947 and subscale α coefficients ranging from 0.895 to 0.933. The mediation analysis revealed that medical students’ professional psychological qualities directly negatively impact depression levels and indirectly positively influence them via their effects on anxiety levels, exhibiting an overall masking effect unrelated to depression levels.Discussion: This study addresses the gap in research on the professional psychological qualities of medical students by providing a reliable measurement tool. The findings shed light on the complex mechanisms through which these qualities impact the mental health process. The scale can be used by other researchers to assess medical students’ professional psychological qualities and further investigate their relationship with mental health outcomes.

Objective This study investigated how labor education participation influences college students' subjective well-being, considering the strategic deployment of educational resources and contemporary labor education policies. It specifically examines the chain mediation effect of life meaning and resilience. The research highlighted the distinct benefits of labor education in enhancing students' mental health and overall quality, offering theoretical insights for refining college labor education systems and boosting students' mental health. Methods After the undergraduates completed a semester of labor education, a multistage sampling method was employed to select 1,033 full-time undergraduates from a university in Sichuan Province. Participants completed a questionnaire survey incorporating the Labor Education Participation Scale, the Chinese Life Meaning Questionnaire, the Resilience Scale, and the Well-being Index Scale. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0. To verify the theoretical hypothesis, a structural equation model (SEM) was constructed using Amos 26.0. The mediation effect was tested through the Bootstrap method, with 2,000 samples drawn. Results correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between labor education participation, meaning in life, resilience, and subjective well-being (r = 0.394–0.657, p < 0.01). Specifically, labor education participation was positively correlated with meaning in life (r = 0.463), resilience (r = 0.394), and subjective well-being (r = 0.568); meaning in life was positively correlated with resilience (r = 0.399) and subjective well-being (r = 0.657); resilience was positively correlated with subjective well-being (r = 0.639). Secondly, confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the measurement models demonstrated a good fit (X²/df = 3.153–5.046, CFI = 0.923–0.989, TLI = 0.915–0.985, SRMR = 0.017–0.036, RMSEA = 0.046–0.063), with both the convergent and discriminant validity meeting academic standards. Thirdly, structural equation modelling revealed that labor education participation directly predicted college students' subjective well-being (β = 0.199, p < 0.01), with a total effect value of 0.682 (p < 0.01). Additionally, labor education participation influences subjective well-being through three significant indirect pathways: ① a single mediator of meaning in life (effect value = 0.223, 95% CI=[0.187, 0.267], accounting for 32.698% of the total effect); ② a single mediator of resilience (effect value = 0.189, 95% CI=[0.141, 0.247], accounting for 27.713% of the total effect); ③ a chain mediation from meaning in life to resilience (effect value = 0.071, 95% CI=[0.053, 0.092], accounting for 10.410% of the total effect). Conclusion Labor education participation directly enhances college students' subjective well-being and indirectly empowers them. Both the sense of life's meaning and resilience serve as independent mediators in this relationship, while also creating a synergistic empowerment effect through a chain pathway. This study contributes to the localised application of positive psychology theory within the context of Eastern collectivist culture. It offers empirical evidence for developing educational programmes that integrate labor practice with psychological development, thereby supporting mental health initiatives in higher education institutions.