Network structure, invariance, and symptom communities of anxiety-depression network among college student-athletes: a network analysis

Due to the unique pressures associated with their dual roles in academics and athletics, college student-athletes experience particularly psychological distress, primarily characterised by anxiety and depression. This study aims to construct an anxiety-depression symptom network among student-athletes and examine the network structure, invariance, core symptoms, and symptom communities. A total of 1,102 college student-athletes were recruited nationwide and participated in an anonymous survey. The Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used to measure anxiety and depression symptom severity. The results indicated that Nervousness (GAD1) exhibited the highest node strength. Psychomotor issues (PHQ8) demonstrated the highest bridge strength. Nervousness-Uncontrollable worry (GAD1-GAD2) exhibits the strongest associated edge. Symptom communities detection result identified three symptom clusters, anxiety core symptom community, depression core symptom community, and an anxiety-depression comorbidity community. Additionally, the network comparison test revealed a significant difference in global network strength among different athletes’ levels. The network demonstrated high reliability in stability testing. This study highlights the importance of addressing mental health issues in student-athletes through network analysis. The findings provide valuable insights for designing targeted symptom interventions and counselling strategies tailored to the mental health challenges faced by student-athletes. Moreover, the application of symptom network analysis introduces a novel research perspective and paradigm for studying mental health symptoms in the field of sports.