Co-Developmental Trajectories of Specific Anxiety Symptoms from Middle Childhood to Early Adolescence: Associations with Psychological Well-Being and Academic Achievement

Trait anxiety predicting the developmental trajectories of depression symptoms in children: The mediating role of attentional control

Trait anxiety and attentional control are important factors related to depression symptoms. The study investigated how trait anxiety and attentional control predicted the trajectories of depression symptoms during the transition into early adolescence. The mediating effect of attentional control on the relationship of trait anxiety to the trajectories of depression symptoms was also examined. Children of 9 to 10 years were recruited at Time 1. Trait anxiety, attentional control, and depression symptoms were assessed at Time 1. Depression symptoms were measured at three follow-up assessments across 18 months. Latent class growth modeling revealed high (14.4%) and low (85.6%) trajectories of depression symptoms. Higher trait anxiety and lower attentional control predicted a higher likelihood of showing the trajectory of high depressive symptoms. Attentional control mediated the relationship of trait anxiety to the trajectory membership of depression symptoms. The findings had important implications for the association of trait anxiety with the trajectory membership of depression symptoms and highlighted the importance of attentional control in the development of depression symptoms for children with high trait anxiety.

Co-developmental trajectories of aggression and rule-breaking from middle childhood to early adolescence: individual and environmental predictors

This study examined the heterogeneous co-developmental trajectories of aggression and rule-breaking from middle childhood to early adolescence, as well as how these identified, distinct trajectories related to individual and environmental predictors. A total of 1944 Chinese elementary school students in grade 4 (45.5% girls, Mage = 10.06, SD = 0.57) completed measures on five occasions across two and a half years, using six-month intervals. Findings included: (a) Parallel process latent class growth modeling revealed four distinct co-developmental trajectory groups of aggression and rule-breaking: congruent-low (84.0%); moderate-decreasing aggression and high-decreasing rule-breaking (3.8%); moderate-increasing aggression (5.9%); and moderate-increasing rule-breaking (6.3%); (b) Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that children belonging to the high risk groups were more likely to experience multiple individual and environmental difficulties. Implications for prevention of aggression and rule-breaking were discussed.

Joint trajectories of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety from middle childhood to early adolescence: associations with suicidal ideation

This study examined the joint trajectories of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety from middle childhood to early adolescence and their associations with suicidal ideation. A total of 643 Chinese elementary school students (55.2% male; Mage = 9.01; SD = 0.75; range = 7 to 11 years at T1) completed measures on six occasions at 6-month intervals. Parallel process latent class growth models revealed five distinct trajectories of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety: "congruent-low" (45.1%), "moderately low with predominant loneliness and depressive symptoms" (15.7%), "moderate with predominant loneliness and depressive symptoms" (4.2%), "moderately low with predominant social anxiety" (24.9%), and "congruent-high" (10.1%). The highest suicidal ideation was observed among adolescents who persistently experienced two or three symptoms, followed by those who persistently experienced one predominant symptom, and finally, adolescents who persistently experienced low levels of all three symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of individual differences considerations in understanding the joint patterns of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety among youth during the transition into adolescence and the need for more sophisticated intervention programs tailored to the unique characteristics of the relevant trajectories to reduce the risk of suicidal ideation.

The relationshipbetween anxiety and social outcomes in autistic children and adolescents: A meta-analysis

Anxiety is one of the most frequently reported co-occurring conditions for autistic children and adolescents. The relationship between anxiety and social outcomes in autistic youth has been the focus of a range of studies, with mixed results. This meta-analysis aimed to identify the strength of the association between anxiety and a frequently researched social outcome (social competence) in autistic young people and whether that association is influenced by individual or research design factors. A previous preregistered systematic review was updated with a search of the same three databases (CINAHL, ERIC, and PsycINFO) as the original review. Through this, 20 studies with sufficient data on a neurotypically-defined measure of social competence and anxiety were identified. Results were synthesised using a mixed effects model. The meta-analysis on 2,321 participants (from 22 samples) highlighted wide heterogeneity in results. The findings show that anxiety has a significant, small negative impact on social competence (d = - 0.48; 95% CI = - 0.71, - 0.26), meaning that as scores on measures of anxiety increase, scores on measures of social competence decrease. This relationship between anxiety and social competence was moderated by age, becoming weaker as age increased. Whilst this is an important finding for supporting mental health and well-being of autistic young people, the large amount of variance left unexplained suggests that multiple factors, including the use of measures designed for neurotypical people and the potential impact of camouflaging on such measures, need to be considered in future designs.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines with mental health problems among Chinese adolescents

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (recommendations for the optimal amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration per day) and mental health problems among Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A two-wave longitudinal survey was conducted in Huizhou, Guangdong province. A total of 906 junior high school students were recruited in the six-month follow-up survey. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, screen time, sleep duration, anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 score), and depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score) were measured using a self-administered questionnaire. At baseline, participants were classified as meeting: 1) no recommendation, 2) one recommendation, 3) two recommendations, or 4) all three recommendations.

RESULTS

Overall, the proportions of adolescents meeting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, screen time, and sleep recommendations at T₁ were 33.3%, 68.2%, and 64.7%, respectively. Cross-sectionally, the severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms at T₁ significantly decreased as the number of recommendations met increased (adjusted regression coefficients [95% CI] for three recommendations met versus none: -2.80 [-4.05, -1.55] and - 3.42 [-4.85, -1.99], respectively). Longitudinally, adolescents who met three recommendations at T₁ displayed lower anxiety and depressive symptoms six months later than those who did not (adjusted regression coefficients [95% CI]: -1.00 [-1.98, -0.02] and - 1.43 [-2.53, -0.32], respectively). Furthermore, meeting three recommendations was associated with the alleviation of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 0.39 [0.17, 0.90]).

CONCLUSIONS

Promoting adolescents to adhere to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines could be considered an intervention target for mental health problems at a population level.

Joint Developmental Trajectories of Likability and Popularity: Associations with Social Behavior among Chinese Adolescents

The beginning of secondary school is a critical time point of adolescents' development as they entered a new peer context in which social status was re-established. As the key indicators of social status, likability and popularity co-occur but also display distinct developmental trajectories over time. Nevertheless, little is known about the joint developmental trajectories of likability and popularity among adolescents and how identified trajectories are associated with important social behavior. The current study examined the joint developmental trajectories of likability and popularity among Chinese adolescents and their associations with social behavior (prosocial behavior, aggression, and peer victimization) over time. A total of 1509 Chinese 7th grade students (53.6% male, M_age = 13.1, SD = 0.67) participated in self-report and peer nomination assessments on three occasions at 6-month intervals. Parallel process latent growth mixture models revealed four distinct trajectories of likability and popularity: social status decreasing, average, high social status, and social status increasing. The high social status group showed the highest levels of prosocial behavior, the lowest levels of peer victimization, and higher aggression than the average group. The social status decreasing group and social status increasing group exhibited the lower prosocial behavior as well as the higher aggression and peer victimization compared to the average group over time. The findings highlight the co-occurrence but diversity of developmental patterns of likability and popularity in adolescence.