Moderating role of conflict resolution strategies in the links between peer victimization and psychological adjustment among youth

Cultural Dimensions Moderate the Association between Loneliness and Mental Health during Adolescence and Younger Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cultural factors, such as country or continent, influence the relationship between loneliness and mental health. However, less is known about how cultural dimensions moderate this relationship during adolescence and younger adulthood, even if these dimensions manifest as country or continent differences. This study aims to examine the potential influence of Hofstede's cultural dimensions on this relationship using a three-level meta-analysis approach. A total of 292 studies with 291,946 participants aged 10 to 24 were included in this study. The results indicate that cultural dimensions, such as individualism vs. collectivism, indulgence vs. restraint, power distance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation, moderated the associations between loneliness and social anxiety, stress, Internet overuse, and negative affect. The association between loneliness and mental health was not moderated by cultural dimensions, such as masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. These findings suggest that culture's influence on the association between loneliness and mental health is based on a domain-specific mechanism.

Different Ways to Defend Victims of Bullying: Defending Profiles and Their Associations with Adolescents' Victimization Experiences and Depressive Symptoms

Adolescents use various strategies to help their victimized peers during bullying episodes. However, prior research has primarily adopted a variable-centered approach that examines the effect of each defending strategies separately and does not address whether there were different types of defenders who exhibit specific combinations of defending strategies and how these profiles related to youth's adjustment outcomes. Using latent profile analysis, this study identified defending profiles among a sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1618, Mage = 13.81, SDage = 0.94, 42% girls) and examined whether these profiles differ on victimization experiences and depressive symptoms. The results yielded four defending profiles: nonaggressive defenders (15%), aggressive defenders (7%), average defenders (54%), and infrequent defenders (24%). Aggressive defenders and infrequent defenders exhibited the highest levels of self-reported victimization and depressive symptoms, whereas nonaggressive defenders demonstrated the lowest. There were no statistical profile differences in peer-reported victimization. Findings suggest that investigating the heterogeneity of youth using defending strategies is important for understanding whether defending actually puts youth at increased risk for negative adjustment.

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.

Relationship of Conflict, Conflict Avoidance, and Conflict Resolution to Psychological Adjustment

Background: Conflict has deleterious effects on the adjustment of children, adolescence, and emerging adults. The literature is less robust on the adverse effects of conflict avoidance on adjustment as well as the beneficial effect of resolution in these age groups. The literature is markedly sparser on these relationships in adults. Method: We recruited N = 1471 US adults between 18 and 86 years old (M = 33.94, SD = 11.67). They primarily identified as White with 51% holding at least a bachelor's degree. Participants responded to the Perceived Family Conflict Subscale, Avoidant Conflict Scale, the Family Conflict Resolution Scale, and the Langner Symptom Survey. Results: A MANOVA modeling the four variables demonstrated a significant difference based on sex for the measure of distress and need for treatment (Mwomen = 5.31, Mmen = 3.93, p < .001). Separate analyses for men and women yielded the same pattern for each sex. Specifically, low conflict groups, as well as low conflict avoidance groups, scored significantly lower on a measure of distress than the high conflict and conflict avoidance group. For conflict resolution, the high groups scored significantly lower on distress than did the low resolution group. Discussion: The deleterious effect of conflict and conflict avoidance were found in both adult men and women, thereby extending results found in children, teens, and young adults. Similarly, the beneficial effect of conflict resolution manifest in adult men and women, which had been found in young adults. Interventions aimed at reducing conflict avoidance and increasing conflict resolution skills should theoretically reduce stress.

Bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model of self-esteem and friendship intimacy

BACKGROUND

Depression is a major mental disorder and poses a serious threat to public health. Bullying victimization is identified as one of the major risk factors for depression in adolescence. Understanding the mechanism that explain why bullying victimization leads to depression, and identifying protective factors that could alleviate the negative effects of bullying victimization are pivotal to developing effective intervention programs.

METHODS

A sample of Chinese adolescents in junior high schools (N = 458, 50.58 % girls, M age = 11.63 years at T1) was followed for three years. The data on depression, bullying victimization, self-esteem, and friendship intimacy were collected from adolescents' self-report.

RESULTS

After controlling related variables, T1 bullying victimization positively predicted T3 depressive symptoms. T2 self-esteem mediated the link between T1 bullying victimization and T3 depressive symptoms when T1 friendship intimacy was low. More specifically, only for youth who reported low friendship intimacy, bullying victimization would lead to a lower level of self-esteem, which in turn, was associated with a higher level of depression.

LIMITATIONS

The study only considered the roles of self-esteem as the mediator and friendship intimacy as the moderator. All measures were based on self-report.

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlighted the role of friendship intimacy and self-esteem in the longitudinal relation between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. The results suggest that intervention programs aiming at reducing victimized adolescents' depressive symptoms should consider the buffering effect of friendship intimacy.

School Bullying Is Not a Conflict: The Interplay between Conflict Management Styles, Bullying Victimization and Psychological School Adjustment

It has been argued that adaptive conflict management styles may protect students against bullying victimization and against negative effects of ongoing victimization on psychological school adjustment. Moreover, maladaptive conflict management styles may lead to victimization or intensify negative effects of victimization on school adjustment. Mediation and moderation models were computed to test these effects. Furthermore, a person-oriented approach compared noninvolved students, victims, and bully-victims regarding conflict management styles and school adjustment. A total of 172 individuals (77.2% female, mean age: 22.7 years) completed a retrospective online questionnaire about conflict management styles, bullying victimization and school adjustment during their school years. In the mediation model, conflict management styles were not associated with victimization, but there was a positive direct effect of the integrating style on school adjustment. In the moderation model, the integrating style moderated the negative effect of victimization on school adjustment but did not buffer against the negative effects when victimization was high. Person-oriented comparisons showed that victims used the obliging style more often than bully-victims. Furthermore, victims and bully-victims showed lower school adjustment than noninvolved students. Overall, results corroborate the view that school bullying is qualitatively different from normal peer conflicts. Implications for researchers, policymakers, school principals and teachers are discussed.

The effect of solution-focused approaches on adolescents' peer bullying skills: A quasi-experimental study

PURPOSE

To determine the effect of solution-focused approaches on adolescents' coping skills with peer bullying.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A quasiexperimental design was used. The sample consisted of 68 adolescents. Using solution- focused approaches group were held with the intervention cohort. These were six sessions focused on improving participants' ability to cope with bullying. The data on the impact of the solution-focused approaches were collected using the Personal Information Form and the Adolescent Peer Relationship Instrument (APRI).

RESULTS

After the solution-focused approaches, the scores on components of the APRI (bullying and victimization) were significantly lower in the intervention group (p < .05).

PRACTICE IIMPLICATIONS

A solution-focused group approach can be used by nurses to address the issue of peer bullying in schools.

Shyness and Adjustment in Early Childhood in Southeast China: The Moderating Role of Conflict Resolution Skills

The massive social change in urban China today has led to a decline in the adaptive implications of shyness for child adjustment, yet evidence of this trend in young children is limited. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms that help to explain the associations between shyness and maladjustment remains poorly understood. The primary goal of the present study was to explore the moderating role of conflict resolution skills in the links between shyness and socio-emotional and school adjustment among urban Chinese preschoolers. Data were collected from 360 children (44.4% girls, M_age = 4.72 years, SD = 0.63) in kindergartens using parent ratings, teacher ratings, and child interviews. The analyses indicated that the relations between shyness and adjustment were moderated by child conflict resolution skills, which served to buffer shy children from adjustment problems. The results were discussed in terms of the implications of conflict resolution skills for early adjustment of shy preschoolers in the Chinese context.

Mediator of school belongingness and moderator of migration status in the relationship between peer victimization and depression among Chinese children: A multi-group structural equation modeling approach

Peer victimization is a widespread threat to children's mental health. However, existing literature has yet to thoroughly investigate the mediators and moderators underlying the link between peer victimization and depression of Chinese children. Using a sample of school-aged children recruited through a multi-stage cluster random sampling in Southwest China (N = 1322), this study examined the mediating role of school belongingness between overt/relational victimization and children's depressive symptoms. In order to test the moderator of migration status, multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to investigate whether the paths in the mediation model were significantly different across migrant and non-migrant groups. Results indicated that overt and relational victimization had a direct impact on depression. School belongingness mediated the link between overt victimization and depression, but not the link between relational victimization and depression. Furthermore, migration status moderated the direct associations between peer victimization and depression. Specifically, the effect of overt victimization on depression was significant for migrant children but not for local children. By contrast, the effect of relational victimization on depression was significant for local children but not for migrant children. The contributions and implications of this study were discussed.