Mental health literacy and its associated factors among graduate students at Central South University: A cross-sectional study.

Authors

Yubo Wang, Bei Wu, Junzhe Cheng, Rehman Shazia, Ruiling Xu, Yumeng Ju, Jin Liu, Bangshan Liu

Published in

Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences. Volume 51. Issue 8. Pages 1614-1630. Aug 28, 2026.

Abstract

Graduate students have relatively high rates of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and their level of mental health literacy directly influences the recognition of psychological problems, attitude change, and help-seeking behavior. Based on Jorm's mental health literacy framework and the knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) model, this study aims to characterize mental health literacy in this population, identify distinct literacy subgroups, and examine pathways linking imbalances across literacy dimensions with socioeconomic factors.
From December 2023 to January 2024, a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey was conducted through the Rain Classroom platform among 1917 master's and doctoral students from 37 disciplines at Central South University, with a valid response rate of 82.31%. The Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (MHKQ) was used to assess mental health knowledge, and the Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire (MHLq) was used to evaluate 4 dimensions: knowledge (MHLq-1), misconceptions (MHLq-2), mental health first aid and help-seeking behavior (MHLq-3), and self-help strategies (MHLq-4). Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-test, multiple linear regression, latent profile analysis (LPA), and bias-corrected bootstrap mediation analysis were used for statistical inference.
Overall, 95.83% demonstrated basic mental health knowledge (MHKQ 17.834±1.729). The MHLq total was 124.704±12.075, with subscale means of 46.937±5.153, 33.655±3.924, 25.863±3.358, and 18.249±2.020 for MHLq-1 through MHLq-4, respectively. While 76.79% attained high overall literacy, dimensional attainment rates varied: self-help strategies 94.05%, first aid and help-seeking 79.81%, knowledge 75.90%, and erroneous beliefs 73.81%. A structurally uneven profile was evident. Multiple linear regression indicated that for MHKQ, unmarried status (β=-0.334, P=0.035), urban childhood residence (β=0.302, P<0.001), and absence of acquaintances with a mental disorder history (β=0.275, P=0.003) predicted higher scores. For total MHLq, female gender (β=1.255, P=0.023) and current urban residence (β=3.249, P<0.001) predicted higher scores. A history of acquaintances with a mental disorder was associated with fewer erroneous beliefs (MHLq-2: β=-0.516, P=0.013) but not with knowledge or skill dimensions; interaction analyses showed no significant moderation by childhood or current residence (all P>0.05). Mediation analysis revealed that household income partially mediated the effect of current urban residence only for first aid and help-seeking (indirect effect=0.149, 95% bias-corrected CI 0.043 to 0.267, accounting for approximately 17.37% of the total effect), with direct effects dominating all other outcomes. LPA identified a lower-literacy profile (41.63%) and a higher-literacy profile (58.37%) with average posterior probabilities of 0.943 to 0.955 and large between-profile differences (Cohen's d 1.441 to 2.119). Female gender (OR=1.362, 95% CI 1.103 to 1.682) and current urban residence (OR=1.524, 95% CI 1.159 to 2.005) significantly predicted membership in the higher-literacy class.
Mental health literacy among graduate students showed an imbalanced distribution across dimensions, with generally adequate knowledge but deficiencies in practical skills. Urban-rural disparities in mental health literacy appeared to be driven primarily by residence-related informational environments, whereas family economic resources played only a partial mediating role through the skills-related pathway. Graduate mental health education should therefore shift from knowledge transmission toward skills-based training to strengthen practical coping abilities, while greater attention should also be given to the accessibility of mental health education resources for students from rural areas and low-income families.

PMID:
42935193
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.