Mapping Multilevel Correlates of Adolescent Mental Health: Evidence from an Ecological Network Study.

Rising concerns about youth mental health underscore the need to clarify ecological correlates of broad psychological vulnerability. Using a school-based sample of 8,981 Chinese adolescents, this study examined multilevel correlates of a latent general psychopathology factor (p factor) of mental health difficulties. Self-report measures assessed individual, family, school, and social-environmental factors. A sequential feature-selection procedure (univariate screening, LASSO, Boruta) identified 31 candidate variables, which were incorporated into a Bayesian network to estimate conditional associations. Twenty-four variables showed direct conditional associations with the p factor, spanning sleep quality, repetitive negative thinking, impulsivity, childhood trauma, interparental conflict, peer verbal victimization, learning burnout, academic stress, and digital social pressures. Sleep quality demonstrated the strongest association. Findings highlight the interplay of individual and contextual correlates of broad psychopathology and may help inform school- and family-based prevention efforts.