A Study of the Relationship between Socialization Tactics, Motives to Study and Mental Health in Chinese College Students

Sammanfattning: College students constitute a particular social group that carries hopes and expectations from both parents and society. However, in recent years there have been  reports about increasing problems in many universities in China: students suspension from school, skipping classes, or even committing suicide,. As social isolation, anxiety, fragility etc are possible reasons, the importance of university student’s mental health has been taken seriously more and more. University students’ socialization refers to the process in which college students grow up into independent and mature individuals by learning social and culture knowledge. From social perspective, on one hand, they still need to learn professional knowledge, on the other hand, they have to construct a good philosophy for themselves, a correct world outlook and value conception. This study mainly explores undergraduate students’ mental health in relation to socialization tactics and motives to study. That means that the focus of this survey is not on the degree of socialization, but on the tactic the students have chosen to get into the university society. In this study totally 120 students were examined via two questionnaires, the University Personality Inventory(UPI) introduced from Japan, and the combined Motives to Study and Socialization Tactics questionnaire from Israel. Both of them  passed homogeneity testing. The 120 students were from four universities, two  located in Hangzhou city and two in Beijing. Statistical analysis including correlation analysis, multiple regression and t-test, showed that motives to study had little to do with students’ mental health, while scholastic and collegiate socialization tactics were associated with good mental health of the students. There was no big difference in study motives and socialization tactics between the male and the female students in this study.