133. A study on the mental health protection mechanism of cross-border e-commerce platforms—based on the perspective of high-risk population screening

Abstract Background The rapid expansion of cross-border e-commerce and its high-pressure work environment impose substantial psychological stress on employees, with one-third experiencing chronic anxiety, 25% presenting moderate to severe depression, and nearly 40% reporting high burnout levels. High-intensity workloads and transaction uncertainties, aggravated by international logistics fluctuations, further elevate mental health risks among vulnerable groups. Early identification of high-risk individuals enables targeted intervention and helps reduce work-related mental health disorders. Therefore, this study investigates mental health protection mechanisms for high-risk employees on cross-border e-commerce platforms using quantitative screening and a structured intervention program, evaluating its effectiveness in improving anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation to inform actionable mental health management strategies. Methods This study included 420 employees working on cross-border e-commerce platforms, with 210 participants in the experimental group undergoing high-risk screening and receiving targeted psychological intervention. The control group (210 participants) received only routine mental health education. Screening indicators included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory score. The experimental group received an 8-week intervention, including weekly mental health lectures and individual psychological counseling every two weeks for high-risk individuals. The control group received only routine mental health information. All participants completed scale assessments before the intervention (T0), during the intervention (T1, 4 weeks), and after the intervention (T2). Cohen’s effect size was used to assess changes between and within groups. Results The changes in various indicators before and after the intervention in both groups are shown in Table 1. After the intervention (T2), the average GAD-7 score of high-risk individuals in the experimental group decreased from 12.4 ± 3.1 at T0 to 7.8 ± 2.5 (p<.001, d = 1.53). The PHQ-9 score decreased from 13.1 ± 3.6 at T0 to 8.2 ± 2.8 (p<.001, d = 1.44). The total MBI score decreased from 55.7 ± 6.2 to 42.5 ± 5.8 (p<.001, d = 2.18). In contrast, the control group showed no significant changes in any indicators at T2. Discussion The tiered mental health protection mechanism based on high-risk population screening has significant application value in cross-border e-commerce platforms. It can effectively reduce anxiety, depression, and burnout levels, and improve the overall mental health of employees. The results show that the platform can achieve precise mental health management by identifying high-risk individuals early and implementing systematic psychological interventions. Future research can further explore personalized intervention content and long-term follow-up assessments to improve the mental health protection system of cross-border e-commerce platforms.