Abstract

To solve the problem of distance education and cope with emergencies, online education has become one of the common educational methods in recent years.

Objects
This study aimed to explore the relationship between the teacher-student relationship (TSR) and mental disorders of university students in online education.

Measures
۲۰۳۲ full-time undergraduate and graduate students from a comprehensive university in China participated in the online survey. The Chinese version of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 Items, the Chinese version of the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI), and the 7-item Teacher-Student Relationship Perception Questionnaire were administered to the students.

Results
We found that higher quality of perceived TSR and a lower level of mobile phone addiction were associated with better mental health among undergraduate and graduate students during online education. Mobile phone addiction mediated the relationship between TSR and mental disorders, and hometown setting moderated the relationship between TSR and mobile phone addiction. Specifically, a higher quality of perceived TSR was associated with a lower level of mobile phone addiction. In addition, for students with low-quality perceived TSR, those who came from rural areas had a higher level of mobile phone addiction than those who came from urban areas. In contrast, when students had high-quality perceived TSR, the differences between students from urban and rural areas in mobile phone addiction were insignificant.

Conclusion
The results of this study are of great significance in improving the mental health and mobile phone addiction of undergraduate and graduate students during online education and reveal the urban-rural differences in the impact of TSRs during online education.

Introduction

Teacher-student relationship (TSR) refers to the connection between teachers and students in the process of educational communication (Xiang et al., 2022). A positive TSR is defined as students’ perception that they partake in positive interactions with their teachers and that their teachers express a supportive attitude toward their educational requirements (Collie et al., 2016). A close and effective TSR can stimulate learning behavior, support young students in addressing their needs, and make them feel safe and secure in the school environment (Khalilzadeh & Khodi, 2021). On the contrary, unhealthy TSRs can lead to a lack of security among students and are considered to hinder and interfere with students’ attempts to meet their needs in school (Hamre & Pianta, 2001).

In recent years, many schools have changed their teaching mode from traditional classroom education to online education. This shift, marked by changes in communication tools, decreased interaction frequencies, and altered classroom environments, holds profound implications for students’ well-being (Hebebci et al., 2020). Online education has brought convenience to students and faculty and reduced campus conflicts (Vagos & Carvalhais, 2022). However, the advantages of traditional classroom settings, which include enhanced teacher-student interactions, a conducive environment for understanding and focus, and a pace of learning that fosters interactivity and less dependency on technology, still exist (Saurabh et al., 2021). In addition, the findings of a longitudinal study by Hewson (2018) shed light on the significance of the living environment under online education, which might lead to more inequality. Since mobile phone dependency and low academic engagement are already prevalent social and psychological issues in rural areas of China (Zhen et al., 2020), this change in the learning environment may widen the educational inequality between students from urban and rural areas. For these students from rural areas, the transition to university life, often coupled with the challenges of adapting to an urban or online educational setting, underscores the need for strong, supportive TSRs (Chen, 2022; Srinivasan et al., 2021).

Results

۳٫۱٫ Scores of participants in teacher-student relationships, mobile phone addiction, anxiety, and depression
Descriptive data for participants’ scores in perceived TSR, mobile phone addiction, anxiety, depression, and hometown setting are presented in Table 1. Among them, 1439 were female (71.63 %), while 570 were male (28.37). The findings indicated that the mean score for perceived TSR was 3.52 ± ۸٫۸۲, the mean score for mobile phone addiction was 37.96 ± ۱۳٫۰۶, the mean score for anxiety was 10.61 ± ۹٫۵۸, and the mean score for depression was 11.84 ± ۹٫۷۷٫ More participants came from urban areas (67.94%) and were undergraduate students (75.26%).

۳٫۲٫ The distribution of scores of participants in the teacher-student relationship, mobile phone addiction, anxiety, and depression
Fig. 2 shows the distribution of the DASS-21-anxiety score. 44.35 % of the participants had minimal anxiety, 4.93 % had mild anxiety, 19.16 % had moderate anxiety, 10.05 % had severe anxiety, and 21.05% had extremely severe anxiety. Regarding the DASS-21 depression score, this distribution was 42.71%, 10.25%, 27.82%, 12.24%, and 6.97%. Undergraduate students had the lowest prevalence of minimal anxiety (36.18%) and depression (36.51%) and the highest percentage of extremely severe anxiety (26.92%) and depression (7.87%). Moreover, the lowest average scores for TSR and the highest average scores for MPAI were also among undergraduate students. In addition, no matter their educational level, students from rural areas had lower average scores in perceived TSR (overall difference was −۰٫۰۸) and higher average scores in anxiety (overall difference was 1.26) than students from urban areas. However, these differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).