Comparing Depression and Anxiety Symptom Networks in Chinese Students and Teachers

Depression and anxiety often co‐occur in schools, but few studies have compared their symptom networks in students and teachers. We analysed the same PHQ‐9 and GAD‐7 symptoms in 52,093 Chinese secondary‐school students and 7222 teachers. Ordinal Gaussian graphical models were estimated from polychoric correlations, and 5000 group‐label permutations directly tested group differences. Network structure differed (maximum edge difference = 0.142, p < 0.001), but global strength did not (teachers = 7.736, students = 7.634, p = 0.543). Nine of 120 edges remained significant after Holm correction. Across 16 expected‐influence comparisons, sleep problems had a higher value in students; trouble concentrating and psychomotor symptoms had higher values in teachers. Across 16 bridge expected‐influence comparisons, worthlessness, excessive worry, trouble relaxing and irritability had higher values in students. The observed network estimates were unchanged at γ values of 0.50, 0.25 and 0, and the same inferential pattern was reproduced in 20 matched‐size analyses, each based on 7222 participants per group and the full 5000‐permutation procedure. In conclusion, this study revealed selective student–teacher differences in how depressive and anxiety symptoms are interconnected and positioned within symptom networks, underscoring the value of considering population context when examining depression–anxiety symptom organisation across educational groups.