Flow as a Key Predictor of Subjective Well-Being Among Chinese University Students: A Chain Mediating Model

The present study investigated a conceptual model by testing flow experience and subjective well-being of university students during Coronavirus Diseas-19 (COVID-19) via considering their underlying mechanisms of academic self-efficacy and self-esteem. A total of 1,109 Chinese university students completed a questionnaire containing scales of subjective well-being, flow, academic self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Results yielded from the structural equation modeling analysis indicated a significant and positive association between flow experience and subjective well-being, and such an association was sequentially mediated by academic self-efficacy and self-esteem. Findings also provided empirical evidence for the proposed model highlighting the significant role of flow experience at the higher educational context in predicting subjective well-being of Chinese university students, and how such a relation can be supported by suggested mediating roles academic self-efficacy and self-esteem played.

Micronutrient-Fortified Milk and Academic Performance among Chinese Middle School Students: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Many children suffer from nutritional deficiencies that may negatively affect their academic performance. This cluster-randomized controlled trial aimed to test the effects of micronutrient-fortified milk in Chinese students. Participants received either micronutrient-fortified (n = 177) or unfortified (n = 183) milk for six months. Academic performance, motivation, and learning strategies were estimated by end-of-term tests and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Blood samples were analyzed for micronutrients. In total, 296 students (82.2%) completed this study. Compared with the control group, students in the intervention group reported higher scores in several academic subjects (p < 0.05), including languages, mathematics, ethics, and physical performance at the end of follow-up. Students in the intervention group showed greater self-efficacy and use of cognitive strategies in learning, and reported less test anxiety (p < 0.001). Moreover, vitamin B₂ deficiency (odds ratio (OR) = 0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11~0.30) and iron deficiency (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.14~0.81) were less likely in the students of the intervention group, whereas vitamin D, vitamin B₁₂, and selenium deficiencies were not significantly different. “Cognitive strategy” had a partial mediating effect on the test scores of English (95% CI: 1.26~3.79) and Chinese (95% CI: 0.53~2.21). Our findings suggest that micronutrient-fortified milk may improve students’ academic performance, motivation, and learning strategies.

Parental academic involvement in adolescence as predictor of mental health trajectories over the life course: a prospective population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Mental health problems are rising, especially among younger people, indicating a need to identify determinants of the development of mental health over the life course. Parental involvement in their children's studies, particularly in terms of academic socialisation, has been shown to predict better mental health in adulthood, as well as other more favourable health outcomes, but no study published so far has examined its impact on trajectories of mental health. We therefore sought to elucidate the role of parental involvement at age 16 on the life course development of internalised mental health symptoms.

METHODS

In a population-based cohort (452 women and 488 men, 87% of the eligible participants), we examined the association between parental involvement in their offspring's studies, measured by teacher and pupil ratings at age 16, and an index of internalised mental health symptoms at the ages of 16, 18, 21, 30, and 43. Using latent class trajectory analysis, 5 different trajectories were derived from these indices: Very low stable (least symptoms), Low stable, Increasing, Moderate stable, and High decreasing (most symptoms). Multinomial logistic regression was used to regress trajectory membership on the parental involvement variables.

RESULTS

Teacher-rated parental interest in their offspring's studies during the last year of compulsory school was associated with a lower risk of entering the Moderate stable (OR = 0.54; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.98) and High decreasing (OR = 0.41; 0.18 to 0.91) trajectories, compared with the Low stable, also after adjustment for sex, parental social class and mental health, family unemployment and own school grades. Both these associations were present only in children with grades above the national average. Student-rated availability of assistance with homework was associated with a higher chance of entering the Very low stable trajectory in the whole sample (OR = 1.24; 1.07 to 1.43), in men (OR = 1.25; 1.05 to 1.48) and in those with above average grades (OR = 1.39; 1.13 to 1.72), and with a lower risk of entering the Moderate stable in women (OR = 0.74; 0.55 to 0.99), also after the same adjustments.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental involvement in their offspring's studies may buffer against poor mental health in adolescence which may track into adulthood.

Academic achievement, self-concept and depression in Taiwanese children: Moderated mediation effect

The primary purpose of this study was to utilize a multidimensional perspective to examine whether children’s self-concept served as a mediator between academic achievement and depression, and to further investigate whether this mediation effect was moderated by the ages of children. The participants consisted of 632 Taiwanese children in the grades 3 to 6. In the mediation analyses, results found that self-concept, representing a multifaceted and hierarchical structure, was intermediate in the relationship between academic achievement and depression. In further moderated mediation analyses, results indicated that the mediation effect of academic achievement on depression was moderated by the ages or children, with a higher effect for younger children (grades 3–4) than older children (grades 5–6). Finally, this study discussed several empirical and methodological implications of the findings.

Longitudinal Dynamic Analyses of Depression and Academic Achievement in the Hawaiian High Schools Health Survey using Contemporary Latent Variable Change Models

The scientific literature consistently supports a negative relationship between adolescent depression and educational achievement, but we are certainly less sure on the causal determinants for this robust association. In this paper we present multivariate data from a longitudinal cohort-sequential study of high school students in Hawai'i (following McArdle, 2009; McArdle, Johnson, Hishinuma, Miyamoto, & Andrade, 2001). We first describe the full set of data on academic achievements and self-reported depression. We then carry out and present a progression of analyses in an effort to determine the accuracy, size, and direction of the dynamic relationships among depression and academic achievement, including gender and ethnic group differences. We apply three recently available forms of longitudinal data analysis: (1) Dealing with Incomplete Data -- We apply these methods to cohort-sequential data with relatively large blocks of data which are incomplete for a variety of reasons (Little & Rubin, 1987; McArdle & Hamagami, 1992). (2) Ordinal Measurement Models (Muthén & Muthén, 2006) -- We use a variety of statistical and psychometric measurement models, including ordinal measurement models to help clarify the strongest patterns of influence. (3) Dynamic Structural Equation Models (DSEMs; McArdle, 2009). We found the DSEM approach taken here was viable for a large amount of data, the assumption of an invariant metric over time was reasonable for ordinal estimates, and there were very few group differences in dynamic systems. We conclude that our dynamic evidence suggests that depression affects academic achievement, and not the other way around. We further discuss the methodological implications of the study.

Mediators of the Associations Between Externalizing Behaviors and Internalizing Symptoms in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

This study tests the predictive associations between externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms and examines the mediating roles of social competence, parent-child conflicts, and academic achievement. Using youth-, parent-, and teacher-reported longitudinal data on a sample of 523 boys and 460 girls from late childhood to early adolescence, we found evidence for pathways between externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms in both directions. Parent-child conflict, but not social competence and academic achievement, was found to be a significant mediator such that externalizing behaviors predicted parent-child conflicts, which in turn, predicted internalizing symptoms. Internalizing symptoms showed more continuity during early adolescence for girls than boys. For boys, academic achievement was unexpectedly, positively predictive of internalizing symptoms. The results highlight the importance of facilitating positive parental and caregiver involvement during adolescence in alleviating the risk of co-occurring psychopathology.

Childhood determinants of adult psychiatric disorder

The aim of this project was to assess the current evidence from longitudinal studies for childhood determinants of adult mental illness. Because of the variable and often prolonged period between factors in childhood and the identification of mental illness in adults, prospective studies, particularly birth cohorts, offer the best chance of demonstrating associations in individuals.

A review was undertaken in 2006 of the published literature from longitudinal studies, together with some large-scale retrospective studies and relevant reviews which provided supplementary evidence. The main focus was upon potentially ameliorable characteristics, experiences or situations of childhood; however, other factors, not determinants but pre-cursors, associated with later mental illness could not be left out.

Seven major electronic data-bases of published research were interrogated with a range of key-words and the results supplemented from personal searches, enquiries and reference trails. In excess of 1,500 abstracts were read to select 250 papers for full review. The material was assessed in relation to ten factors:

Psychological disturbance; Genetic Influences; Neurological Deviance; Neuroticism; Behaviour; School Performance; Adversity; Child Abuse or Neglect; Parenting and parent-child relationships; Disrupted and Disfunctional Families.

In 2011 the search was repeated for the period 2006 to mid-2011, using the same search terms and supplemented in the same manner. Over 1,800 abstracts emerged and almost 200 papers selected for more detailed review. These were then integrated into the original text with modifications where necessary. The whole text was then revised and edited in January / February 2012.

There is continuing evidence for the association with later mental ill-health for each of these ten factors, but with different degrees of conviction. The evidence for each is discussed in detail and weighed both separately and in relation to others. These are then summarised, and the research implications are considered. Finally, the implications for prevention are discussed together with the practical potential for preventive and health-promoting programmes.

Self-Concept, Early Childhood Depression and School Retention as Predictors of Adolescent Depression in Urban Hispanic Adolescents

The role that early school retention, early childhood depression and self-concept had on levels of depression in 191 urban Hispanic adolescents was investigated. This exploratory study used a purposeful sample to study relationships and thus causality cannot be inferred. Statistically significant gender differences were found for depression with females reporting more depressive symptoms and both Hispanic males and females reporting higher rates of depression than the national average. Overall retention rates were 42 percent, with the majority of students retained in kindergarten and 1st grade with a second peak in retention rates in the 8th and 9th grades. Retained students versus non-retained students had statistically significant differences in: (a) lower self-concept; (b) past feelings of depression; (c) GPA and (d) depression. Predictors of depression in order of contribution were: (a) self-concept; (b) early childhood depression; (c) retention and (d) gender. The findings in this study are generalizable only to the sample in this study and may not apply to adolescents in other ethnic groups. Implications for schools and school psychologists are noted.