Chinese Early Adolescents Research Articles

Lonely, impulsive, and seeking attention: Predictors of narcissistic adolescents’ antisocial and prosocial behaviors on social media

Narcissistic youth use social media to engage in a variety of self-promotional behaviors, which have either antisocial or prosocial characteristics. Differing views exist to explain the processes underlying narcissistic self-promotion, either characterizing these actions as intentional, or as impulsive. This study compared intentional attention-seeking and impulsivity as potential mediators of relations between narcissism and both aggressive (i.e., cyberbullying) and prosocial online behavior, and examined whether youth’s loneliness might strengthen these associations. Among Chinese early adolescents (N = 213, Mage = 13.26), narcissism positively predicted youth-reported cyberbullying offending and online prosocial behavior. Loneliness moderated the link between narcissism and attention-seeking, but not impulsivity. Among adolescents higher in loneliness, narcissism indirectly predicted cyberbullying and online prosocial behaviors via attention-seeking. These results highlight narcissism, loneliness, and their interplay as potential predictors of youth’s social media behaviors. Links with attention-seeking, in particular, suggest that educators and practitioners might target youth’s conscious expectations for social rewards when counseling narcissistic adolescents about self-promotional social media use.

Association Between Child Maltreatment and Aggression in Chinese Early Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Irritability.

Child maltreatment (CM) is a major global public health issue, and a strong association exists between CM and aggression. However, the underlying mechanism of this association has not been understood to date. The objective of this study was to explore the mediating role of irritability in the association between CM and aggression in Chinese early adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-report questionnaire to evaluate the levels of CM, aggression, and irritability in 5,724 middle school students from the Anhui Province, China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis of the mediating effect of irritability on the relationship between CM and aggression. We further investigated gender differences in this association using multiple group analyses. CM was positively related to both irritability and aggression, and irritability was positively associated with aggression (p < .01). The mediating effects of irritability between CM and aggression were significant (β = .107, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.077-0.133, p < .05). Males had a higher indirect effect size of the pathway from CM to aggression via irritability compared with females. Overall, irritability was a crucial mediator in the relationship between CM and aggression in Chinese adolescents, and males were more prone to engage in aggression compared with females through the pathway of irritability. Therefore, early irritability characteristics should be carefully monitored in adolescents, and they should be provided adequate support to acquire critical emotion regulation skills.

Longitudinal Relation between Harsh Punishment and Psychoticism among Chinese Early Adolescents: Disentangling between‑ and within‑Family Effects

This longitudinal study examined bidirectional relations between parental harsh punishment and psychoticism at the between‑ and within‑family levels in Chinese adolescents. There were 3,307 Chinese youth (43.6% girls, M age = 11.30 years, SD = 0.24) who participated in a 4-wave longitudinal study, spaced 12 months apart. The results of cross-lagged panel modeling (i.e. CLPM) found the significant bidirectional relations between parental harsh punishment and psychoticism at the between-family level. However, the within-person level analysis of random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (i.e. RI-CLPM) only revealed parental harsh punishment significantly predicted youth psychoticism, but not vice versa. Moreover, no sex differences were observed in the bidirectional relations between parental harsh punishment and psychoticism at the between- or within-family level. These results suggest parental harsh parenting could exacerbate the psychoticism trait at both the between- and within-family level, whereas the influence of young people’s psychoticism on harsh parenting response from parents occurs only at the between-family level. The findings help to understand the nature of the dynamic process of change between psychoticism and harsh parenting among Chinese adolescents.

Longitudinal trajectories of sleep quality in correlation with maltreatment in early childhood: A cohort of Chinese early adolescents

BackgroundChild maltreatment may lead to sleep disturbance during the critical period of child development. Our study examined the effect of maltreatment in early childhood on trajectories of sleep quality among early adolescents. MethodsThe study included 1611 participants (mean ± standard deviation age at baseline: 12.5 ± 0.5 years) from a middle school in southeastern China. Of these participants, 60.5 % were males. Information on early childhood maltreatment during pre-seventh grade was obtained through a self-report questionnaire at baseline, and sleep quality was collected at baseline and during follow-up. We used a group-based trajectory model to characterize trajectories of sleep quality. ResultsThe study identified four trajectories of sleep quality, namely the low sleep score group (25.0 %), the moderate-low sleep score group (51.0 %), the moderate-increasing sleep score (17.0 %), and the high-decreasing sleep score (7.0 %) group. After adjusting for covariates, the findings revealed that emotional abuse and physical abuse were associated with an increased risk of developing new-onset sleep disturbances in early adolescents. Particularly, emotional abuse (incidence rate ratio = 1.71, 95 % confidence interval: 1.08–2.71) significantly increased the risk of belonging to the high-decreasing sleep score group. Moreover, there existed a dose–response relationship between early childhood maltreatment and sleep quality trajectories, with a higher number of maltreatment types in early childhood correlating with a greater risk of belonging to the high-decreasing sleep score group. ConclusionsThe findings of our study provide compelling evidence indicating that specific types and cumulative maltreatment during early childhood contribute to sleep disturbances among early adolescents. The study findings highlight the significance of preventing and reducing early childhood maltreatment to enhance sleep quality during early adolescence.

Longitudinal network relations between symptoms of problematic internet game use and internalizing and externalizing problems among Chinese early adolescents

ObjectiveThere has been growing evidence of comorbidity between problematic internet game use and internalizing and externalizing problems in young people. However, little is known about the directionality and gender differences in these longitudinal relations at the symptoms level in the framework of network theory among youth. This study estimated the longitudinal relations between the symptoms of problematic internet game use, internalizing and externalizing problems, and the gender differences of these relations in Chinese youth using cross-lagged panel network modeling (CLPN). MethodsA sample of 1269 Chinese youth (M age = 10.35 years) participated in this study semi-annually at two time points. CLPN analysis was used to calculate the network model of problematic internet game use and internalizing and externalizing problems to explore bridge symptoms and find transmission pathways between problematic internet game use and internalizing and externalizing problems. ResultsThe CLPN revealed significant gender differences. For boys, depressed mood, which leads to relationships turning sour in order to play online games, bridges the relations between internalizing symptoms and problematic internet game use. For girls, irritability is the central predictive symptom, causing a range of problems related to problematic internet game use, which can, in turn, lead to fights or feelings of worthlessness. However, the effect sizes for the pathways between problematic internet game use and internalizing/externalizing problems were relatively weak, and the comorbidity between their relations should not be over-interpreted. ConclusionsThe current findings provide new evidence for understanding the directional relationship between the central characteristics of problematic internet game use and internalizing and externalizing problems in boys and girls. Gender-specific interventions targeting the central symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems and problematic internet game use can help mitigate the vicious cycle of comorbidity among adolescents.

Cyberbullying and Traditional Bullying Victimization, Depressive Symptoms, and Suicidal Ideation Among Chinese Early Adolescents: Cognitive Reappraisal and Emotion Invalidation as Moderators

This study examined how depressive symptoms play mediating roles between cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation and the moderating roles of cognitive reappraisal and emotion invalidation. A total of 1,823 Chinese adolescents (Mean age = 11.20, SD = 1.21, 47.8% girls) participated this study. Results showed that cyberbullying victimization was more strongly related to suicidal ideation than traditional bullying victimization. Depressive symptoms played mediating roles between cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Cognitive reappraisal mitigated the effects of cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization on depressive symptoms, and perceived emotion invalidation strengthened the effect of depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation. Results further showed that the mediating effect of depressive symptoms was more prominent when there were low levels of cognitive reappraisal and more perceived emotion invalidation. Promoting youths’ cognitive reappraisal and providing validating responses to their depressive symptoms could mitigate the destructive effects of bullying victimization on suicidal ideation.

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Awe and Perceived Stress Among Chinese Early Adolescents: A Cross-Lagged Analysis

Stress among adolescents is a growing concern due to its adverse effects on health and social functioning, especially in China. Awe is related to relief of daily stress and reduction of stress-related symptoms. However, existing research related to perceived stress in Chinese adolescents has not considered awe; moreover, the possible influence of perceived stress on the tendency to feel awe is poorly understood. This study used two-wave cross-lagged analysis to explore the relationship between awe and perceived stress among Chinese adolescents. Three hundred and fifty Chinese middle school students aged 13 to 16 completed the Dispositional Awe Scale and Perceived Stress Scale questionnaires twice, with 3 months between responses. Results show that awe predicts lower levels of perceived stress over time, and perceived stress predicts lower levels of awe, supporting the idea of a reciprocal relationship between the two. This suggests potential practical interventions for stress management in Chinese adolescents.

Clique Hierarchy Moderates the Association between Social Preference and Defending Behaviors in Early Adolescence: The Role of Gender Differences.

Although social preference promotes adolescents' defending behaviors, its potential mechanisms across gender cliques remain unclear from the group dynamic perspective. This study investigated 2470 Chinese early adolescents (49% girls, Mage = 14.40, SD = 0.58) to explore how social preference and clique hierarchy are associated with defending behaviors and whether these associations differ across gender-specific cliques. The results revealed that social preference was positively related to defending behaviors in boys' cliques, but negatively in girls' cliques. Furthermore, the association was strengthened by hierarchization in boys' cliques but was weakened in girls' cliques, while the status structure strengthened the association in boys' but not girls' cliques. These findings hold crucial implications for understanding and promoting defending behaviors among adolescents.

"Youth-focused" versus "whole-family" screen rules: Associations with social media difficulties and moderation by impulsivity.

Many parents attempt to limit adolescents' screen time without changing their own habits. We examined whether "whole-family" versus "youth-focused" restrictions differentially predict social media-related difficulties (procrastination and problematic use), and whether adolescents' impulsive social media behaviors moderated these relationships. Among 183 Chinese early adolescents (58.5% female), whole-family rules negatively predicted procrastination. Impulsivity moderated associations between rulemaking approaches and social media difficulties; youth-focused rules negatively predicted procrastination and problematic use for highly impulsive adolescents, while whole-family rules held no associations or predicted increased difficulties. For less impulsive adolescents, however, whole-family rules negatively predicted social media difficulties and youth-focused rules positively predicted problematic use. Results suggest that setting the implementation of screen rules should involve parental participation and consideration of individual differences.

Longitudinal correlates of bullying victimization among Chinese early adolescents: A cross-lagged panel network analysis

BackgroundBullying victimization is a major public health issue often faced by adolescents. This highlights the need to identify the relevant risk factors to inform intervention. Based on the ecological systems theory and applied cross-lagged panel network analysis, this study explored the longitudinal correlates of bullying victimization among Chinese early adolescents. MethodsA total of 1686 early adolescents (60.4 % were boys) from the Chinese Early Adolescent Cohort study were included in this study. Bullying victimization and its associated factors were assessed using the self-report questionnaires, which was administered from 2019 (T1), 2021 (T2), and 2022 (T3). The longitudinal relationships between bullying victimization and its correlates were examined using a cross-lagged panel network analysis. Results27.0 %, 14.9 %, and 13.2 % of the participants reported being bullied by peers at T1, T2, and T3, respectively. The temporal network suggested that individual-level (sex, depression, and anxiety), family-level (child abuse), school-level (satisfaction with classmates), and social-level (satisfaction with society) factors were associated with bullying victimization. The node with the greatest centrality strength was anxiety. Notably, relationship with teachers and classmates were the unique nodes in the T2 → T3 replication network. LimitationsThe sample is unrepresentative, as it is from only one middle school. ConclusionsThe findings provide important insights into bullying victimization prevention and intervention among Chinese early adolescents: 1) highlighting the importance of joint interventions across multiple departments; 2) focusing on the most central factors of bullying victimization; and 3) considering the effect of time when exploring the correlates of bullying victimization.

Trajectories of Chinese paternal emotion-related socialization behaviors during early adolescence: Contributions of father and adolescent factors.

Parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) are developmental and multiply determined. However, longitudinal studies on the development patterns of ERSBs and their antecedents, especially for Chinese fathers, are scarce. This study examined the longitudinal trajectories of Chinese fathers' ERSBs during early adolescence and whether they are influenced by the father (depressive symptoms and emotion dysregulation) and adolescent factors (depressive symptoms and emotional intelligence). We used 4-year, self-reported, survey-based data from Chinese early adolescents (46.70% girls, Mage at Wave 1 = 10.26 years, SD = 0.33) and their fathers (Mage at Wave 1 = 40.36 years, SD = 4.22), and data analyses were conducted using unconditional and conditional latent growth model (N = 1061 at Wave 1). The results revealed an increase in the father's supportive and non-supportive ERSBs over 4 years. Furthermore, father's depression symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and adolescent's depression symptoms can predict paternal supportive ERSBs' trajectories, while only the father's depression symptoms and emotion dysregulation can predict the change in non-supportive ERSBs. The findings give a holistic picture of the developmental trajectories of paternal ERSBs during early adolescence, and highlight the importance of accounting for differences in father and adolescent factors in understanding changes in parental ERSBs during this critical developmental period.

Childhood maltreatment and homicidal ideation among Chinese early adolescents: The serial mediating role of borderline personality features and aggression.

A large body of evidence linked childhood maltreatment (CM) to juvenile violence and delinquent behavior. However, little is known about the association between CM and homicidal ideation in early adolescents. This study aimed to examine that relationship and to explore the serial mediating role of borderline personality features (BPF) and aggression in that relationship in a large sample of early adolescents. A total of 5724 early adolescents (mean age: 13.5 years) were recruited from three middle schools in Anhui Province, China. The participants were invited to complete self-report questionnaires regarding their history of CM, BPF, aggression, and homicidal ideation. Mediation analyses were evaluated using structural equation modeling. A total of 669 participants (11.7%) reported homicidal ideation in the past 6 months. CM victimization was positively associated with homicidal ideation after adjusting for covariates. Furthermore, the serial mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of CM on homicidal ideation through BPF and subsequent aggression. Exposure to maltreatment in childhood is likely to manifest BPF and subsequently higher levels of aggression, which in turn are related to increased homicidal ideation. These findings suggest the need for early intervention for BPF and aggression in early adolescents exposed to CM to prevent the development of homicidal ideation.

Bidirectional association between sleep quality or duration and aggressive behaviour in early adolescents: A cross-lagged longitudinal study

BackgroundSeveral cross-sectional studies have suggested a strongly positive link between sleep and aggressive behaviour; however, longitudinal studies reporting the relationship between sleep and aggressive behaviour are lacking. This study aimed to examine whether a bidirectional relationship exists between sleep quality or duration and aggressive behaviour in early adolescents. MethodsA total of 1579 early adolescents (60.9 % boys) from the Chinese Early Adolescents Cohort study were included in this study. Data on sleep quality, sleep duration and aggressive behaviour collected at two time points (September 2019 and September 2021) were used, and the bidirectional relationship between sleep quality or duration and aggressive behaviour was examined using a cross-lagged model. ResultsThe results revealed a bidirectional relationship between low sleep quality and highly aggressive behaviour. A shorter sleep duration did not predict highly aggressive behaviour, whereas only highly aggressive behaviour predicted a shorter sleep duration. ConclusionsSleep quality and aggressive behaviour were interrelated over time among adolescents. However, sleep duration did not predict aggressive behaviour, suggesting that sleep quality, instead of sleep duration, should be the primary target for managing aggressive behaviour.

Internet altruistic behavior among Chinese early adolescents: Exploring differences in gender and collective efficacy using a latent growth modeling

Internet altruistic behavior among Chinese early adolescents: Exploring differences in gender and collective efficacy using a latent growth modeling

Involvement in bullying and sleep disorders in Chinese early adolescents.

School bullying may cause sleep disorders in early adolescents. Here, we determined the relationship between school bullying (considering all the features of bullying involvement) and sleep disorders, which are the common problems in Chinese early adolescents. We conducted a questionnaire survey among 5,724 middle school students from Xuancheng, Hefei, and Huaibei cities in Anhui province, China. The self-report questionnaires included the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. We used latent class analysis to identify the potential subgroups of bullying behavior. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between school bullying and sleep disorders. Active participants in bullying interactions, including the bullies and victims, reported higher levels of sleep disorders compared with the non-active participants [Bully: physical (aOR = 2.62), verbal (aOR = 1.73), relational (aOR = 1.80), and cyber (aOR = 2.08); Victim: physical (aOR = 2.42), verbal (aOR = 2.59), relational (aOR = 2.61), and cyber (aOR = 2.81)]. A dose-response relationship was observed between the number of school bullying types and sleep disorders. In the context of bullying roles, bully-victims had the highest risk of reporting sleep disorders (aOR = 3.07, 95% CI: 2.55-3.69). We identified four potential categories of school bullying behaviors: low involvement in bullying, verbal and relational victims, medium bully-victims, and high bully-victims, and the highest frequency of sleep disorders was observed in the high bully-victims group (aOR = 4.12, 95% CI: 2.94-5.76). Our findings indicate a positive correlation between bullying roles and sleep disorders in early adolescents. Therefore, targeted intervention for sleep disorders should include an evaluation of bullying experiences.

Put down the phone and accompany me: How parental phubbing undermines prosocial behavior of early adolescents

Parental phubbing can exert negative effects on the adolescents themselves or their interaction with parents. However, less attention has been paid to the interaction with the environment or people outside the family system, such as prosocial behavior. Therefore, this study mainly conducted two studies to explore the influence of parental phubbing on adolescents' prosocial behavior, as well as the mechanisms underlying. Study 1 preliminarily investigated the relationship by using the cross-sectional method (n = 445, Mage = 15.03 ± 0.98 years, 48.3 % were boys). Study 2 adopted a longitudinal study with an interval of 7 months (n = 432, Mage = 14.55 ± 0.61 years, 49.5 % were boys). The participants in two surveys were chosen from Chinese early adolescents. Two studies showed that (1) parental phubbing negatively predicted early adolescents' prosocial behavior; (2) parent-adolescent attachment played a mediating role in the relationship between parental phubbing and early adolescents' prosocial behavior; (3) parent-adolescent attachment and gratitude played sequential mediating roles in the relationship. The results of the present study suggest that parental phubbing deteriorates early adolescents’ prosocial behavior through decreasing parent-adolescent attachment, or through parent-adolescent attachment and gratitude together.

Longitudinal relation between maladaptive parenting and nonsuicidal self-injury among Chinese early adolescents: The roles of internalizing symptoms and FKBP5 gene variation

BackgroundWhile increasing research has effectively documented that maladaptive parenting is a significant risk factor for adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury, the process mechanism and gene-by-environment interaction in this relation among Chinese early adolescents are still poorly understood. MethodsIn this study, a multi-informant longitudinal design was applied to investigate the indirect effect of internalizing symptoms in the relation between maladaptive parenting and nonsuicidal self-injury, and to examine how FKBP5 gene variation moderates these association. A total of 1718 Chinese Han early adolescents (44.30 % girls; Mage at Wave 1 = 10.35) and their parents participated this study. ResultsThe results showed that maladaptive parenting significantly predicts adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury after six months. Maladaptive parenting was also indirectly related to nonsuicidal self-injury via internalizing symptoms. Moreover, using a cumulative genetic score approach, the results showed that FKBP5 gene variation moderates the predictive effect of maladaptive parenting on internalizing symptoms and also moderates the indirect effect of internalizing symptoms between maladaptive parenting and nonsuicidal self-injury. These effects were more salient among adolescents with high (versus low) FKBP5 gene related cumulative genetic score linked to heightened stress reactivity. LimitationsOur study only obtained two waves of data. Three waves of data would be more suitable for examining a mediation model. ConclusionThis study reveals the process mechanism between maladaptive parenting and nonsuicidal self-injury and highlights the significance of gene-by-environment interaction to explain the emergence of nonsuicidal self-injury among adolescents.

Changes in Chinese early adolescents' group orientation and mental health from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adolescence is a critical period for formulating and developing value orientations. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically restricted people's lives, potentially leading adolescents to reevaluate what they prioritize in life (i.e., their values) and affecting their mental health. Previous studies suggest that Chinese early adolescents' group orientation is negatively associated with mental health more strongly in rural than in urban, whereas this rural-urban differs may vary after the outbreak of the pandemic. To examine potential changes in group orientation, mental health, and their associations during the pandemic, two cross-sectional surveys of ninth-grade students in the same three school were conducted in rural and urban China in 2019 and 2021. The results showed that compared with students before the pandemic (2019, N = 516, 48.8% girls, Mage = 14.87 years), students during the pandemic (2021, N = 655, 48.1% girls, Mage = 14.80 years) displayed lower group orientation such as group responsibility and rule abiding of rural students, and higher loneliness and depressive symptoms. Social equality, group responsibility and rule abiding were all significantly negatively associated with loneliness and depressive symptoms. Those negative associations were stronger in the urban regions than in the rural region. Follow-up invariance analysis revealed that this rural-urban difference in the relations between social equality, group responsibility, and rule abiding and mental health problems was only significant during (and not before) the pandemic. The protective effect of group orientation on mental health seems to be weakened only in rural contexts. The results suggest that significant changes in macrolevel contexts may play an important role in shaping adolescents' value orientation and mental health.

School bullying and its risk and protective factors in Chinese early adolescents: A latent transition analysis.

Bullying perpetration and victimization are common and problematic occurrences during adolescence. Typically, bullying incidents involve different bullying roles. However, little is known about the developmental stability and changes in these roles. In the present study, we aimed to assess the stability and changes in bullying roles and examine risk and protective factors associated with bullying involvement. A total of 1711 Chinese early adolescents (47.4% girls, Mage = 11.99) participated in the study at two time points approximately 6months apart. Three subgroups of bullying were identified: bully-victims, victims, and the uninvolved. In terms of stability and changes, the uninvolved were the most stable over time, while victims and bully-victims tended to become the uninvolved. Bully-victims also tended to become victims. Early adolescents with higher levels of parental psychological control and depression symptoms were more likely to be victims or bully-victims. Higher levels of depression symptoms increased the risk of transitioning from being the uninvolved or bully-victims to becoming victims. Higher levels of friendship quality were associated with higher odds of being the uninvolved or transitioning from being victims or bully-victims to becoming the uninvolved. Our findings indicate that bullying roles were relatively stable, with some changes over time. The results also highlight the important function that parental psychological control, friendship quality, and depression symptoms can play in preventing and intervening in bullying.

Development and Validation of the Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire Among Chinese Early Adolescents.

This study aimed to clarify the multidimensionality of defending by developing and validating the Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire (ADBQ) in a sample of Chinese adolescents. Results of Study 1 (N = 824, Mage = 11.25) indicated that a five-factor model, comprising (a) assertive defending, (b) aggressive defending, (c) comforting victims, (d) reporting to authority, and (e) tactical defending, yielded a good fit to the data. Study 2 (N = 1,086, Mage = 11.18) established ADBQ's reliability (α = .78-.93) and construct validity: the five defending dimensions were differentially associated with cognitive and affective empathy, aggression, sociability, peer preference, and victimization. Together, the results suggest that the ADBQ is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument for assessing the multidimensionality of defending.