{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T05:04:22Z","timestamp":1789535062821,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Vocational college students face elevated risks of psychological distress due to academic, interpersonal and family stressors. However, longitudinal evidence tracking their two-year mental health shifts and relevant ecological correlates remains scarce. This study analyzed two-year mental health changes among vocational college students and examined correlations between family background variables and co-curricular activities (locally named \u201csecond classroom\u201d).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A two-year longitudinal survey was conducted with 1,277 students recruited from one vocational college in Anhui, China. Mental distress was measured via the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). Analyses included independent-samples t-tests, paired-samples t-tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression adjusted for baseline mental health scores.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Students exhibited statistically significant reductions in SCL-90 total scores at the two-year follow-up (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), indicating improved psychological status. Family financial hardship and childhood left-behind experience correlated with higher levels of psychological distress. Co-curricular credit accumulation showed a weak negative correlation with post-test SCL-90 scores (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f\u22120.140,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Vocational students presented overall mental health improvements across two academic years. Family disadvantage correlates with higher psychological distress, while co-curricular participation only shows a mild negative correlation with follow-up mental symptoms with low explanatory power; co-curricular participation exhibits a potential supportive association with students\u2019 mental wellbeing, yet it is merely one of numerous relevant factors shaping students\u2019 psychological status. Optimizing structured co-curricular schemes can serve as one auxiliary mental health measure rather than a dominant intervention path.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1901932","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T04:31:05Z","timestamp":1789533065000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Changes in vocational college students\u2019 mental health over two academic years: associations with family factors and co-curricular activities"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Zhaoying","family":"Ping","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Zhong-Ao Institute of Technology","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenshan","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Zhong-Ao Institute of Technology","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-014-0237-4","article-title":"The downward spiral of mental disorders and educational attainment: a systematic review on early school leaving","volume":"14","author":"Esch","year":"2014","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1111\/eip.12878","article-title":"Global research priorities for youth mental health","volume":"14","author":"Mei","year":"2020","journal-title":"Early Interv Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1093\/eurpub\/ckab202","article-title":"Mental health and physical activity in vocational education and training schools students: a population-based survey","volume":"32","author":"Jensen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur J Pub Health"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.13152\/IJRVET.10.2.6","article-title":"Scoping review of positive mental health research for students in vocational education and training","volume":"10","author":"Solberg","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Res Vocat Educ Train"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"106","DOI":"10.56300\/CLDF4068","article-title":"Mental health difficulties and health related quality of life amongst late adolescents in vocational education","volume":"16","author":"Abela","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int J Emot Educ"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1135","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph22071135","article-title":"Teachers\u2019 perspectives on the impact of an outdoor-based self-care training program on student mental health","volume":"22","author":"Bucher","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations","author":"Harper","year":"2014"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"693","DOI":"10.19030\/ajbe.v5i6.7391","article-title":"Clarifying the meaning of extracurricular activity: a literature review of definitions","volume":"5","author":"Bartkus","year":"2012","journal-title":"Am J Bus Educ"},{"key":"ref9","volume-title":"The Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R)","author":"Derogatis","year":"1975"},{"key":"ref10","first-page":"68","article-title":"The symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90)","volume":"2","author":"Wang","year":"1984","journal-title":"Shanghai Arch Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref11","volume-title":"The transition to post-Secondary Vocational Education: Students\u2019 Entrance, Experiences, and Attainment [Doctoral Dissertation]","author":"Elffers","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4159\/9780674028845","volume-title":"The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design","author":"Bronfenbrenner","year":"1979"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1901932\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T04:31:22Z","timestamp":1789533082000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1901932\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"references-count":12,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1901932"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1901932","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"article-number":"1901932"}}