[Beijing college students' self-consciousness: its level, structure and relationship with mental health].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate Beijing college students' self-consciousness and its relationship with mental health.


METHODS
Convenient samples of 928 college students from five universities in Beijing were inquired and assessed with the self-consciousness scale and the Kessler 10 psychological distress scale. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data.


RESULTS
College students' scores of self-consciousness did not differ in sex, age, grade and major type. 83.5% of the participants had relatively low scores (10-24) of psychological distress, but those of the students of liberal arts were higher (P < 0.05). The measurement data of self-consciousness supported Mittal and Balasubramanian' s five-factor structure. Self-reflectiveness was positively correlated with depression (P < 0.05). Internal state awareness was negatively associated with both anxiety and depression (P < 0.05). Style consciousness was positively correlated with both of them (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Beijing college students' self-consciousness is relatively high and has a relatively complex structure. While self-reflectiveness and style consciousness have negative effects, internal state awareness is good for mental health.
Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. fanzhw@pku.edu.cn
Zhiwei
Z
Fan
Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Shuchang
S
He
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003243:Consciousness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012649:Self Concept; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult