@article{ref1,
title="The relationship between irritability, depression and anxiety among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a network analysis",
journal="Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry",
year="2023",
author="Zhao, Mengxue and Liu, Chang and Wang, Lingzhi and Zhan, Xiaoqing and Ren, Lei and Li, Ling and Luo, Xi and Li, Kuiliang and Feng, Zhengzhi",
volume="2",
number="",
pages="e1045161-e1045161",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: Irritability, a common symptom included in the 5th Edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), is thought to be associated with multiple emotional disorders. It is commonly seen among college students in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its relation with anxiety and depression remains unclear. We aim to study the relation of irritability, anxiety and depression in Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic by using network analysis to understand the co-occurrence of these three disorders.   Methods: During the COVID-19 pandemic, we recruited 1516 college students from five general universities in China to complete the Irritability, Depression and Anxiety Scale (IDA-S) to analyze the symptom network of irritability, depression and anxiety. Specifically, we assessed the indices of strength centrality and bridge strength for each node in the network.   Results: Some strongest linkages were found among anxiety symptoms &quot;nervous&quot; and &quot;panic&quot; (weight = 0.36), depression symptoms &quot;sad mood&quot; and &quot;amused&quot; (weight = 0.32), inward irritability items &quot;self-hurt&quot; and &quot;self-harm&quot; (weight = 0.32) and outward items &quot;rough&quot; and &quot;aggressive&quot; (weight = 0.28). The anxiety symptom &quot;panic&quot; had the highest strength value, followed by the inward irritability symptom &quot;annoyed&quot;. The nodes &quot;ease&quot; and &quot;sleep&quot; had the lowest strength value. In addition, the anxiety symptom &quot;relax&quot; had the highest bridge strength value, followed by inward irritability symptom &quot;annoyed&quot;.   Conclusion: This study explored the characteristics of a network of irritability, depression and anxiety symptoms among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that anxiety and irritability symptoms played an important role in the network. The findings provide evidence for prevention and intervention for college students' mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2813-4540",
doi="10.3389/frcha.2023.1045161",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frcha.2023.1045161"
}