Self–Esteem among Chinese Cohorts: Its Temporal Trend and Its Relationships with Socioecological Factors, 1993–2016

Increasing self-esteem among left-behind children in China: a cross-temporal meta-analysis from 2006 to 2020 : All author names

BACKGROUND

Self-esteem serves as a fundamental indicator for assessing the mental health of left-behind children in China. Previous studies have placed more emphasis on investigating its current situation, while overlooking its dynamic changes with social development.

METHODS

This research project used the approach of cross-temporal meta-analysis to analyze 72 papers that used the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, ranging from 2006 to 2020(date of data collection) and covering 29,835 left-behind children, to delve into the diachronic changes and influencing factors of self-esteem of left-behind children over the years.

RESULTS

The outcomes demonstrated that: (1) The self-esteem scores of Chinese left-behind children increased from 30.74 in 2006 to 32.7 in 2020. (2) The level of self-esteem among left-behind children was significantly correlated with social indicators (economic conditions and educational level) for the actual year, 3 years prior, or 5 years prior to the self-esteem data collection.

CONCLUSIONS

The level of self-esteem of left-behind children has been rising between 2006 and 2020. In addition, it is noteworthy that social development had a significant influence on predicting changes in the self-esteem of left-behind children.

A Socioecological-Genetic Framework of Culture and Personality: Their Roots, Trends, and Interplay

Culture and personality are two central topics in psychology. Individuals are culturally influenced influencers of culture, yet the research linking culture and personality has been limited and fragmentary. We integrate the literatures on culture and personality with recent advances in socioecology and genetics to formulate the Socioecological-Genetic Framework of Culture and Personality. Our framework not only delineates the mutual constitution of culture and personality but also sheds light on (a) the roots of culture and personality, (b) how socioecological changes partly explain temporal trends in culture and personality, and (c) how genes and culture/socioecology interact to influence personality (i.e., nature × nurture interactions). By spotlighting the roles of socioecology and genetics, our integrative framework advances the understanding of culture and personality.

Does Economic Growth Raise Happiness in China? A Comprehensive Reexamination

Has China’s vigorous economic growth raised its citizens’ happiness? Existing studies have portrayed, if not a pessimistic picture, a complicated one. We conducted two studies to clarify this issue. In Study 1, we used data from available national surveys between 1990 and 2018 (64 samples) and demonstrated a significant quadratic U-shaped trend and a rising tendency. In Study 2, we conducted a cross-temporal meta-analysis from 2001 to 2019 (689 samples) and found that Chinese happiness manifested a linear rising trend, although this trend was more salient in the community sample than in the student one. In both studies, Granger causal analysis suggested that economic growth was the Granger cause of the increase in Chinese happiness. These findings indicate that economic growth has raised happiness in China since 1990, particularly since 2001, and highlight the importance of moving beyond the Easterlin Paradox.

Stereotypes of Social Groups in Mainland China in Terms of Warmth and Competence: Evidence from a Large Undergraduate Sample

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) has been validated in multiple countries and regions. However, previous validation studies in China have been limited by small sample size. The current research increased the sample size (n = 184 in the pilot study; n1 = 1315 and n2 = 268 in the formal study) to validate the SCM in mainland China in study 1. Supporting the SCM, 41 social groups were clustered into four quadrants based on warmth and competence dimensions. 35 of the 41 target groups (85.37%) receive ambivalent stereotype. Perceived warmth and competence were positively correlated (r = 0.585, p < 0.001). Status and competence were positively related (r = 0.81, p < 0.001), and competition and warmth were negatively related (r = -0.77, p < 0.001). In addition, 24 typical social groups were selected and a list of stereotype words for these groups was developed in study 2 (n1 = 48, n2 = 52). The implications of the emerging social groups and the applications of this stereotype word list are discussed.