Loneliness and Self-Esteem in Children and Adolescents Affected by Parental HIV: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

"Successful Living" Among Adolescents With HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis

ABSTRACT

The concept of successful living in the context of adolescents with HIV lacks clarity and is unexplored. Without a common understanding of successful living among adolescents with HIV (AWH) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), health care interventions focusing on this population may continue to fall short, resulting in avoidable morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this analysis used Rodgers Evolutionary Concept Analysis method to identify attributes, antecedents, consequences, and related concepts of successful living among AWH in SSA. Health care interventions are encouraged to promote successful living among AWH to achieve behavioral and clinical outcomes.

The Relationship between Meaning in Life and Mental Health in Chinese Undergraduates: The Mediating Roles of Self-Esteem and Interpersonal Trust

To explore the association and the underlying process between meaning in life and psychological health, a stratified random sampling was conducted on undergraduate students from five universities in Fujian Province from March to April 2022, with the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Self-Esteem Scale, the Interpersonal Trust Scale, and the Kessler10 Scale. The results indicated that 34.5% of Chinese undergraduates were in poor or worse mental health. There were significant positive correlations among meaning in life, self-esteem, and interpersonal trust; meaning in life, self-esteem, and interpersonal trust were all significantly and positively correlated with mental health. Self-esteem and interpersonal trust played a chain mediating role between meaning in life and mental health. Schools and families should conduct appropriate activities to help them enhance meaning in life so as to improve the level of mental health.

Research on the Influence Mechanisms of the Affective and Cognitive Self-Esteem

Most prior studies examined the direct relation between social media usage and loneliness. This study tries to reveal the covert mechanisms involved in how different types of SMU affect older adults' loneliness, which has rarely been an object of attention in the prior literature. A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to analyze the data collected from 466 older adults in a field study. This research divided self-esteem into two dimensions: affective self-esteem (AE) and cognitive self-esteem (CE). The study found that changes in CE only stemmed from functional SMU (FSMU), rather than active SMU (ASMU) and passive SMU (PSMU). ASMU and PSMU had a significant effect on FSMU. CE had a significant effect on loneliness. Objective social isolation (OSI) had a positive relationship with loneliness. Moreover, PSMU, FSMU, and CE had a significant effect on ASMU, CE, and AE, respectively. For older adults, the feeling of connecting with others was more valuable than acquiring specific outcomes. The mediation test results showed that FSMU could play a completely mediating role in the relationship between ASMU and PSMU, as well as that between ASMU and CE. CE significantly mediated the relationship between FSMU and loneliness. Finally, the total effect sizes of ASMU and PSMU on FSMU were significant, and those of CE on older adults' loneliness and AE were significant, while the total effect of AE on older adults' loneliness was non-significant. AE moderated the relationship between PSMU and OSI, so PSMU was related to higher OSI only for users experiencing high AE. These findings offer a guide for the use of social media to conduct future loneliness interventions for older adults.

The Effect of Social Exclusion on Trust Among Youth Orphaned by HIV/AIDS: Evidence From an Event-Related Potentials Study

Grounded in a follow-up study among children who lost one or both parents to HIV in central China in the early 2000s, we conducted an event-related potentials (ERPs) experiment to explore the effect of social exclusion on trust and the corresponding neurophysiological mechanism among youth orphaned by HIV/AIDS ("AIDS orphans"). A sample of 31 AIDS orphans (26.16 ± 3.34 years old; 15 female) and 32 age and development status matched controls (25.02 ± 3.45 years old; 14 female) participated in the study. They were all assigned to play Cyberball, a virtual ball-tossing game that reliably induced social exclusion (15 orphans, 16 controls) and inclusion (16 orphans, 16 controls). Then, they played the Trust Game by taking the role of trustor with their electroencephalograms (EEGs) being recorded during the game. In the Trust Game, each participant was required to decide whether to trust their partners in over 150 trials (decision-making stage). The partner's reciprocation strategies were pre-programmed by the experimenter (with an overall reciprocating rate of 50%). All participants were provided with post-decision feedback about the outcome of their decisions (gain or loss of game points) in each trial (outcome evaluation stage). We analyzed their behavioral responses at the decision-making stage and ERP components at the outcome evaluation stage. Behavioral results showed that the proportion of orphans choosing trust was significantly higher than the controls, and the trust ratio of the orphan exclusion (OE) group was significantly higher than that of the orphan inclusion (OI) group, control exclusion (CE) group, and control inclusion (CI) group. Furthermore, the response time of the OE group was significantly shorter than that of other groups. ERP results indicated that the amplitude of the feedback-related negativity (FRN) in the OI group was significantly more negative than that in the CI group with loss feedback, while there was no significant difference between the OE and OI groups. Similarly, the P300 amplitudes following outcome feedback were larger in the CI group than that in the OI group with gain feedback and had no significant difference between OE and OI.

Spirituality as compensation for low-quality social environments in childhood among young Kenyan men

This study explores the role of spirituality as a coping mechanism for poor social conditions in childhood, asking whether spirituality moderates poor childhood social conditions and suicide ideation, self-rated health and collective self-esteem among young Kenyan men. Measured outcomes were worse among men who recalled fewer memories of relational warmth and safety in childhood, and better among men who reported higher spirituality. Consistent with the "religion as attachment" framework, spirituality significantly moderated associations between suicide ideation, self-rated health and childhood relational warmth and safety. Contrary to expectations, the association between low childhood warmth and safety and collective self-esteem was exacerbated, rather than compensated for, by higher spirituality. We consider whether "a safe harbor" may exist for people higher in spirituality to accept and critique social arrangements, and whether such a situation might illuminate another way spirituality compensates for poor social environments.

Meal regularity is associated with self-esteem among grade 5 children

BACKGROUND

Meal regularity is associated with many aspects of mental health. However, few studies have examined whether a relationship exists between meal regularity and self-esteem in children.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to determine whether an association exists between meal regularity and self-esteem in grade 5 children.

METHODS

Among 4009 grade 5 students (mean age = 11.0 years ± SEM = 0.006) from the 2011 Children's Lifestyle and School Performance Study (CLASS-II; Nova Scotia, Canada), cross-sectional meal regularity survey data (family supper, supper in front of the television, supper alone, skipping breakfast, and skipping lunch) were collected using the Harvard Youth/Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire and examined in relation to self-esteem. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was used to determine the ORs and 95% CIs associated with low self-esteem. Analyses were stratified by sex and adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle covariates.

RESULTS

Compared to children who ate supper in front of the television or alone either never or less than once/week, children had greater odds of low self-esteem if 5 or more times/week they ate supper in front of the television (OR = 1.85; 95% CI, 1.40-2.43) or alone (OR = 4.23; 95% CI, 2.58-6.95). Compared to children who ate family supper 5 or more times/week, children who ate family supper never or less than once/week had greater odds of low self-esteem (OR: 1.97; 95% CI, 1.51-2.56). Skipping breakfast and skipping lunch were associated with greater odds of low self-esteem [OR = 2.92 (95% CI, 1.87-4.57) and OR = 4.82 (95% CI, 2.14-10.87) respectively].

CONCLUSIONS

In our study of grade 5 children, all 5 indicators of meal regularity tested are significantly and consistently associated with self-esteem.

The Stability and Change of Loneliness Across the Life Span: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

Individuals experience loneliness when they perceive a deficiency in the quality or quantity of their social relationships. In the present meta-analysis, we compiled data from 75 longitudinal studies conducted in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America (N = 83, 679) to examine the rank-order and mean-level development of loneliness across the life span. Data were analyzed using two- and three-level meta-analyses and generalized additive mixed models. The results indicate that the rank order of loneliness is as stable as the rank order of personality traits and follows an inverted U-shaped trajectory across the life span. Regarding mean-level development, loneliness was found to decrease throughout childhood and to remain essentially stable from adolescence to oldest old age. Thus, in contrast to other personality characteristics, changes in loneliness are not generally related to age. Implications for theory are discussed.

What Really Matters for Loneliness Among Left-Behind Children in Rural China: A Meta-Analytic Review

In rural China, left-behind children are likely to suffer chronic loneliness. Research has identified a variety of factors that may be associated with loneliness among these children. A meta-analysis is needed to address the empirical inconsistencies and examine the strength of relations between different factors and loneliness. The current meta-analysis included 51 studies on predictors of loneliness published from 2008 to 2017. Results showed that one individual factor (social anxiety) is a key risk factor for loneliness, whereas eight individual (older age, self-esteem, resilience, extroversion) and contextual factors (family functioning, parent–child relationship, peer relationship, social support) serve as protective factors in predicting loneliness. In addition, boys were more likely to feel lonely than girls. Findings and implications of this study were discussed.