Demographic Characteristics And Path Model Of Impact Factors Of Depression In Young Chinese Armymen

Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, chronic fatigue, low energy, etc. It interferes with an individual's cognitive functions, physical functions and social interactions. The average onset age for depression is 25, most of which is 15-19 years and 25-29 years. Armymen at this age category is a high-risk group for depression.Good mental quality in armymen is an important support to enhance combat effectiveness. Retrospective studies showed that the status of mental health is not good in young armymen in China with depression as the chief factor. The positive rate of Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) was 60.66%; the positive rate of Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) was 19.79%. In view of this, the aim of this study is to analyze the demographic characteristics and psycho-social factors of depression in young armymen, establish the path model of impact factors of depression, and accordingly provide the theoretical basis and practical guideline for the intervention and therapy of depression in young Chinese armymen.5000 armymen by cluster sampling were measured with Mental Quality Scale, Self-Depression Scale and Attributional Style Questionnaire, among which 4019 questionnaires available were retrieved. Conclusions were obtained as followed:1. 63.67% of 4019 young armymen were free from depression, 23.09% suffered from mild depression, 11.87% moderate depression, and 0.97%severe depression, which implied a high onset rate of depression in young armymen.2. There were significant differences in depression degree among young armymen with different ages, educational levels, length of military service and military ranks. There was no significant difference among young armymen with different services and genders.3. There were significant differences in partial dimensions of mental quality among young armymen with different ages, educational levels, length of military service, services and military ranks. 4. There were significant negative correlations between depression and dimensions of mental quality. The total score and scores of each dimension of mental quality were lower in the depressed than that of the non-depressed.5. There were significant differences in depression among the young armymen with high, medium and low levels of mental quality.6. There were significant differences in partial dimensions of attributional style among young armymen with different ages, educational levels, length of military service, services and military ranks.7. Depression was negatively correlated with positive attribution, and positively correlated with negative attribution. There were significant differences in positive and negative attribution between the depressed and the non-depressed.8. The path model of impact factors of depression implied that mental quality, positive and negative attribution accounted for 24% of depression, among which mental quality and positive attribution had significant negative effect on depression, and negative attribution had significant positive effect on depression.9. In accordance with the path model, intervention program was carried out in 2 cases of depression, which produced ideal effect.