The Impact of Body Image, Social Comparison, and Academic Pressure on Mental Health Among Chinese Art Students in Beijing: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

Mental health problems among university students in China have become an increasingly urgent concern, particularly in large urban centers where academic competition, social visibility, and career uncertainty are pronounced. Within this broader population, art students represent a particularly vulnerable group because they operate in educational environments characterized by subjective assessment, public critique, visual self-presentation, and intense pressure to demonstrate originality. This study examines how body image concerns, social comparison, and academic pressure affect mental health outcomes among Chinese art students in Beijing, with self-esteem tested as a mediating mechanism. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from 300 students enrolled in art and design programs in Beijing universities and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The findings show that body dissatisfaction, media exposure, perceived importance of appearance, social comparison, parental expectations, and institutional demands all significantly increase stress and anxiety. Among these predictors, body dissatisfaction and institutional demands show the strongest direct effects. The results further indicate that self-esteem partially mediates the relationship between all six predictors and mental health outcomes, confirming that reduced self-worth is one of the principal pathways through which psychosocial and academic stressors undermine student well-being. The study contributes to the literature by focusing on a neglected subgroup within Chinese higher education and by integrating appearance-based, relational, and academic pressures into one explanatory model. The findings suggest that universities should adopt discipline-specific mental health interventions that strengthen self-esteem, reduce toxic comparison, improve media literacy, and reform critique and assessment cultures in art education.