| Title |
Lifestyle choices and mental health: a longitudinal survey with German and Chinese students
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
BMC Public Health, May 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s12889-018-5526-2 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Julia Velten, Angela Bieda, Saskia Scholten, André Wannemüller, Jürgen Margraf |
| Abstract |
A healthy lifestyle can be beneficial for one's mental health. Thus, identifying healthy lifestyle choices that promote psychological well-being and reduce mental problems is useful to prevent mental disorders. The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the predictive values of a broad range of lifestyle choices for positive mental health (PMH) and mental health problems (MHP) in German and Chinese students. Data were assessed at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Samples included 2991 German (Mage = 21.69, SD = 4.07) and 12,405 Chinese (Mage = 20.59, SD = 1.58) university students. Lifestyle choices were body mass index, frequency of physical and mental activities, frequency of alcohol consumption, smoking, vegetarian diet, and social rhythm irregularity. PMH and MHP were measured with the Positive Mental Health Scale and a 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. The predictive values of lifestyle choices for PMH and MHP at baseline and follow-up were assessed with single-group and multi-group path analyses. Better mental health (higher PMH and fewer MHP) at baseline was predicted by a lower body mass index, a higher frequency of physical and mental activities, non-smoking, a non-vegetarian diet, and a more regular social rhythm. When controlling for baseline mental health, age, and gender, physical activity was a positive predictor of PMH, smoking was a positive predictor of MHP, and a more irregular social rhythm was a positive predictor of PMH and a negative predictor of MHP at follow-up. The good fit of a multi-group model indicated that most lifestyle choices predict mental health comparably across samples. Some country-specific effects emerged: frequency of alcohol consumption, for example, predicted better mental health in German and poorer mental health in Chinese students. Our findings underline the importance of healthy lifestyle choices for improved psychological well-being and fewer mental health difficulties. Effects of lifestyle on mental health are comparable in German and Chinese students. Some healthy lifestyle choices (i.e., more frequent physical activity, non-smoking, regular social rhythm) are related to improvements in mental health over a 1-year period. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 11 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 9% |
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | 1 | 9% |
| Turkey | 1 | 9% |
| Germany | 1 | 9% |
| Unknown | 7 | 64% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 9 | 82% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 9% |
| Scientists | 1 | 9% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 441 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 441 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 66 | 15% |
| Student > Master | 35 | 8% |
| Researcher | 27 | 6% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 26 | 6% |
| Other | 17 | 4% |
| Other | 60 | 14% |
| Unknown | 210 | 48% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 50 | 11% |
| Psychology | 43 | 10% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 37 | 8% |
| Sports and Recreations | 14 | 3% |
| Social Sciences | 10 | 2% |
| Other | 54 | 12% |
| Unknown | 233 | 53% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 18. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 November 2022.
All research outputs
#1,852,177
of 23,604,080 outputs
Outputs from BMC Public Health
#2,028
of 15,324 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#41,048
of 328,715 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Public Health
#62
of 318 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,604,080 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 92nd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 15,324 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 14.1. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 318 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 80% of its contemporaries.