The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domains positive valence system, negative valence system, cognitive systems, and social processes and their relationship with stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in a university student sample

TL;DR

This study explores how mental health issues like stress, anxiety, and depression in university students relate to the RDoC framework's domains, finding that negative emotions and cognitive issues are most strongly linked.

Contribution

The study applies the RDoC framework to non-clinical university students, linking mental health symptoms to specific psychological domains.

Findings

Negative valence and cognitive systems were strongly linked to stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

Depressive symptoms were also associated with reduced positive affect and impaired social processes.

No significant differences in mental health burden were found across different university faculties.

Abstract

Mental health difficulties are highly prevalent among university students. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework seeks to improve diagnosis, treatment, and prevention by providing a comprehensive framework for understanding mental health and illness. We report the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in a student sample and investigate their relationship with the RDoC domains positive valence system (PVS), negative valence system (NVS), cognitive systems (CS), and social processes (SP). Differences by faculty affiliation are also explored.

184 university students (mean age 24.5 ± 5.9 years, 73.4% female) participated in an online survey. RDoC domain scores were determined using a confirmatory factor analysis. Stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Multiple linear regressions (MLR) were conducted to examine RDoC domain factor scores as predictors of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Additional MLR analyses examined faculty affiliation as a predictor.

30% of the participants (stress 28.8%, anxiety 31.0%, depressive symptoms 30.4%) showed an elevated symptom burden. NVS- and CS-scores were positively associated with stress (b = 3.417, p < 0.001, b = 1.412, p = 0.001), anxiety (b = 2.735, p < 0.001, b = 0.994, p = 0.003), and depressive symptoms (b = 1.519, p = 0.004, b = 1.000, p = 0.012). PVS- and SP-scores were negatively associated with depressive symptoms (b = -1.306, p = 0.006, b = -2.050, p = 0.001). No differences by faculty affiliation were found.

Our findings demonstrate a notable mental health burden in university students. We found associations between RDoC domains and all three mental health outcomes. Depressive symptoms were associated with all assessed RDoC domains. Anxiety and stress were linked to NVS- and CS-scores. Mental burden was therefore predominantly associated with heightened negative affect, anxiety, and subjectively perceived impaired cognitive performance. Depressive symptom burden was additionally associated with reduced positive affect and impaired social behavior and interaction. No faculty-specific burden was observed. The study contributes to understanding university students’ mental health burden and represents a further step in conceptualizing stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms based on the RDoC framework in a non-clinical sample.