The Symptom Structure and Causal Relationships of Comorbid Anxiety and Depression Among Chinese Primary and Middle School Teachers: A Network Analysis

Using network analysis, this study elucidated core, bridging, and shared symptoms, as well as potential causal pathways between anxiety and depression. Specifically, somatic symptoms are crucial in maintaining and developing the anxiety-depression network among teachers. Sleep disturbance serves as the sole gateway for mild symptoms to develop into other communities. The Bayesian network identified two key activating symptoms within the teacher anxiety-depression network, validating the applicability of the tripartite model among teachers.