Hopelessness in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong: demographic and family correlates

Associations Between Academic Stress and Depressive Symptoms Mediated by Anxiety Symptoms and Hopelessness Among Chinese College Students

Purpose

Patients and Methods

Results

Conclusion

Parents’ Expression and Discussion of Emotion in the Multilingual Family

Parents regularly use words to express and discuss emotion with their children, but does it matter which language they use to do so? In this article, we examine this question in the multilingual family context by integrating findings from both psychological and linguistic research. We propose that parents’ use of different languages for emotional expression or discussion holds significant implications for children’s emotional experience, understanding, and regulation. Finally, we suggest that an understanding of the implications of emotion-related language shifts is critical, particularly in adapting interventions within a rapidly diversifying society.

Psychological traits and the cortisol awakening response: results from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety

BACKGROUND

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is often seen in major depression, and is thought to represent a trait vulnerability - rather than merely an illness marker - for depressive disorder and possibly anxiety disorder. Vulnerability traits associated with stress-related disorders might reflect increased sensitivity for the development of psychopathology through an association with HPA axis activity. Few studies have examined the association between psychological trait factors and the cortisol awakening response, with inconsistent results. The present study examined the relationship between multiple psychological trait factors and the cortisol awakening curve, including both the dynamic of the CAR and overall cortisol awakening levels, in a sample of persons without psychopathology, hypothesizing that persons scoring high on vulnerability traits demonstrate an elevated cortisol awakening curve.

METHODS

From 2981 participants of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), baseline data from 381 controls (aged 18-65) without previous, current and parental depression and anxiety disorders were analyzed. Psychological measures included the Big Five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) measured using the NEO-FFI, anxiety sensitivity assessed by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, cognitive reactivity to sadness (hopelessness, acceptance/coping, aggression, control/perfectionism, risk aversion, and rumination) as measured by the LEIDS-R questionnaire, and mastery, assessed using the Pearlin and Schooler Mastery scale. Salivary cortisol levels were measured at awakening, and 30, 45, and 60 min afterwards.

RESULTS

In adjusted analyses, high scores of hopelessness reactivity (β=.13, p=.02) were consistently associated with a higher cortisol awakening response. In addition, although inconsistent across analyses, persons scoring higher on extraversion, control/perfectionism reactivity, and mastery tended to show a slightly flatter CAR. No significant associations were found for neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness, anxiety sensitivity, and acceptance/coping, aggression, or risk aversion reactivity.

CONCLUSION

Of various psychological traits, only hopelessness reactivity, a trait that has been associated with depression and suicidality, is consistently associated with HPA axis dysregulation. Hopelessness reactivity may represent a predisposing vulnerability for the development of a depressive or anxiety disorder, possibly in part mediated by HPA axis activity.

A longitudinal study of perceived parental psychological control and psychological well-being in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

On two occasions separated by one year, Chinese adolescents (N = 2,758) responded to instruments measuring their perceived parental psychological control and psychological well-being, including hopelessness, mastery, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that perceived parental psychological control was concurrently related to adolescent psychological well-being at Time 1 and Time 2. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the relationships between perceived parental psychological control and adolescent psychological well-being over time were bidirectional in nature. Regarding the differential contribution of paternal and maternal psychological control to adolescent psychological well-being over time, paternal psychological control at Time 1 predicted changes in adolescent life satisfaction at Time 2, particularly for adolescent girls. On the other hand, maternal psychological control at Time 1 predicted changes in adolescent self-esteem at Time 2. Relative to those conditions in which one or none of the adolescents' parents was perceived to display high psychological control at Time 1, the psychological well-being of adolescents at Time 2 was poorer under the condition in which both parents were perceived to display high levels of psychological control at Time 1. The clinical implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.