One-third of medical students report moderate or low mental well-being

In a cross-sectional survey of 968 undergraduate medical students at a medical university in an underdeveloped area of China, 33.4% were classified as having moderate or low mental well-being. The study found that stronger professional identity, greater perceived support from family and significant others, regular living habits, dietary and nutritional behaviours, and physical activity were associated with better mental well-being after adjustment for covariates. Perceived resource scarcity and adverse childhood experiences were negatively associated with the outcome.

Researchers measured mental well-being using the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. Participants had a mean score of 29.4, with a standard deviation of 5.45. The survey also collected demographic information and used validated instruments to assess lifestyle, professional identity, perceived social support, family capital, adverse childhood experiences, and perceived involution.

Investigators analysed the data with descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and multiple linear regression. The research was published in BMC Medical Education . The adjusted associations covered several dimensions of students’ lives.

Professional identity was positively associated with mental well-being, as was perceived support from both family and significant others. Regular living habits, dietary and nutritional behaviours, physical activity, and year of study were also positively associated with the measured outcome. In the other direction, students who reported greater perceived resource scarcity or more adverse childhood experiences tended to have lower mental well-being scores.

These were statistical associations observed in the survey, rather than evidence that any one factor produced the reported differences. Because the design was cross-sectional, it cannot establish temporal relationships or causal effects. The results also apply to the population studied: undergraduate medical students enrolled at one university in one underdeveloped area of China.

They may not represent students at other institutions or in other parts of the country. Its principal contribution is the identification of factors statistically associated with well-being among the surveyed students, including the finding that approximately one-third were classified in the moderate- or low-well-being range.

Subject of Research: Mental well-being and associated factors among medical students in an underdeveloped area of China

Article Title: Mental well-being and associated factors among medical students in an underdeveloped area of China: a cross-sectional study

Article References: Chen, D., & Lam, L. T. (2026). Mental well-being and associated factors among medical students in an underdeveloped area of China: a cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10335-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10335-2

Keywords: mental well-being, medical students, China, cross-sectional study, social support, professional identity, lifestyle, physical activity, adverse childhood experiences, medical education, Mental, well-being