Relationships among psychological well-being, character strengths, gratitude, and grit in military medical university students: a network analysis

BACKGROUND: Military medical students face dual academic-military pressures, making their mental health crucial for personal and national defense development. Current research focuses mainly on psychological disorders, leaving positive psychology approaches underexplored. This study uses network analysis to examine relationships between psychological well-being and positive psychological traits. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 652 military medical university students. Standardized scales measured psychological well-being, character strengths, grit, and gratitude. A regularized network model was constructed using the EBICglasso algorithm. Centrality and bridge centrality analyses identified core and bridge nodes, with network stability assessed via bootstrap methods. RESULTS: Gratitude showed positive correlations with all dimensions of psychological well-being, with the strongest correlation between interpersonal strength and intellectual strength (r = 0.86). Key network edges included interpersonal strength - intellectual strength, temperance strength -perseverance of effort, and gratitude-consistency of interests. Interpersonal strength, temperance strength, and purpose in life were core nodes, while perseverance of effort, temperance strength, and gratitude were critical bridge nodes. The network demonstrated good stability (CS = 0.75). CONCLUSION: Interventions targeting the identified core and bridging psychological elements can effectively enhance military medical students’ mental health. This study provides a theoretical foundation for implementing positive psychology-based mental health education in military medical universities and practical guidance for designing targeted interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.