Peer support mediates sex differences in self-esteem and problem behaviors among children: Does parental migration make a difference?

Family cohesion and adaptability reduces mobile phone addiction: the mediating and moderating roles of automatic thoughts and peer attachment

With the popularity of mobile Internet devices, the incidence of mobile phone addiction has been increasing, which has aroused the concern of all sectors of society. Due to the difficulty of eliminating the risk factors of mobile phone addiction, it's significant for researchers to examine the function and underlying mechanisms of positive environmental factors in reducing individuals' mobile phone addiction. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the relationship between family cohesion and adaptability and mobile phone addiction among university students and analyzed the mediating role of automatic thoughts as well as the moderating role of peer attachment in this link. The sample consisted of 958 Chinese university students. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing family cohesion and adaptability, mobile phone addiction, automatic thoughts, and peer attachment. PROCESS model 8 was significant (the total effect model (F (5, 952) = 19.64, R² = 0.09, p < 0.001)). Results indicated that family cohesion and adaptability could not only negatively predict mobile phone addiction directly, but also indirectly through the mediating effect of automatic thoughts. Moreover, both the direct association between family cohesion and adaptability and mobile phone addiction as well as the indirect effect of automatic thoughts were moderated by peer attachment. Findings emphasized the beneficial role of peer attachment on the effect of family cohesion and adaptability on automatic thoughts and mobile phone addiction.

Latent Profile Analysis of Children's Moral Character and the Classing Effect on Bullying in Rural China

Moral character is the key component of positive youth development. However, few studies have examined children's moral character and the association with bullying and bullied behavior. Guided by the framework of positive psychology, this study aimed to investigate the association of moral character with bullying and bullied behavior among children in rural China and whether the association differed between left-behind children (LBC) and non-left-behind children (NLBC). A total of 723 children (aged 11-16 years) in rural China completed standard questionnaires that contained six specific character traits and bullying/bullied behavior. Latent profile analysis revealed that children's moral character was divided into three classes (i.e., low-character class, average-character class, and high-character class). Compared with children in low-character and average-character classes, children in the high-character class had the lowest bullying and bullied behavior. Children in the low-character class were those at greater risk of bullied behavior. The association of the latent character classes with bullied behavior differed between LBC and NLBC. These findings highlight the urgent need for character-based and targeted interventions to prevent children's bullying and bullied behavior.