Effects of Irritability of the Youth on Subjective Well-Being: Mediating Effect of Coping Styles

Longitudinal Association Between Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Depression Symptoms Among Chinese Adolescents During COVID-19: Evidence from Network Perspective

Although there are an increasing number of studies that have explored the mental health consequences of COVID-19 focusing on revealing risk factors, the longitudinal research examining the potential mechanism of the co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression symptoms among adolescents were scarce. The present study identified the important comorbidity symptoms and explored longitudinal relationship of PTSS and depression symptoms from the network perspective. A two-wave investigation (4 months interval; T1 and T2) was conducted with a sample of 1225 Chinese adolescents. Cross-sectional network and cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) analyses were adopted. Results showed that comorbidity symptoms consisted of both overlapping and non-overlapping symptoms, including "Future foreshortening" at T1 and T2 from PTSS, and "Hard to get started" at T1 and "Not sleep well" at T2 from depression symptoms. Strong longitudinal pathways appeared from all PTSS to depression symptoms, among which the pathway from "Difficulty concentrating" to "Hard to get started" was the strongest. These findings suggest that the possible comorbidity between PTSS and depression symptoms is caused by their independent and related structures, and their longitudinal association. Clinical intervention for these symptoms may alleviate adolescents' psychological problems in the aftermath of traumatic events.

Psychological distress facing the COVID-19 pandemic in dental interns from the Peruvian capital: A cross-sectional study under a multivariable regression model

Aim

Psychological distress can be considered a maladaptive response to a stressful situation that occurs when external events or stressors impose demands that cannot be coped with. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the sociodemographic factors associated with psychological distress in dental interns from the Peruvian capital facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods

This analytical, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 392 Stomatology interns from the Peruvian capital from June to July 2022. The validated COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) scale to detect the levels of psychological distress consisted of four dimensions: negative mood, changes in behavior and cognitive skills, fatigue and hyperreactivity, and somatization. Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact test were used for bivariable analysis. In addition, a logit model was used to assess the influence of variables: sex (X1), age group (X2), marital status (X3), monthly economic income (X4), working area in the capital city (X5), and living with people vulnerable to COVID-19 (X6), with the psychological distress levels, considering a significance p < 0.05.

Results

The prevalence of psychological distress in dental interns was severe in 6.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.9-8.8%] and mild in 37.8% (95% CI: 33.0-42.6%). According to bivariable analysis, the levels of psychological distress by COVID-19 were not significantly associated with sex (p = 0.190), age group (p = 0.418), marital status (p = 0.554), monthly economic income (p = 0.327), working area in the capital city (p = 0.993), and living with people vulnerable to COVID-19 (p = 0.134). In addition, according to the logistic regression analysis, none of the variables studied was considered an influential factor (p > 0.05) in psychological distress presented by dental interns.

Conclusion

The 44.2% of dental interns from the Peruvian capital presented psychological distress facing the COVID-19 pandemic, without any of the possible associated variables of this study significantly affecting this behavioral disorder.

Within-person Relations between Domains of Socio-emotional Development during Childhood and Adolescence

Adolescence is a critical period in the development of mental health with nearly 1 in 5 adolescents suffering from mental health problems and more than 40 percent of these experiencing at least one co-occurring mental health disorder. This study investigates whether there are differences in the relations between key dimensions of child and adolescent mental health in adolescence compared to childhood. Mental health and related socio-emotional traits were measured longitudinally at ages 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 16 in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 11279) using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires. Graphical Vector Autoregression models were used to analyse the temporal within-person relations between conduct problems, emotional problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer problems and prosociality across childhood (ages 4 to 9) and adolescence (11 to 16). Results suggest that adolescence is characterised by an increase in the number and strength of temporal relations between socio-emotional difficulties. In particular, in adolescence there were bidirectional connections between peer problems and emotional problems, between conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention and between prosociality and conduct problems as well as hyperactivity/inattention. In childhood, conduct problems and prosociality were reciprocally related. Results also suggested peer problems as a potential mediating factor between conduct and emotional problems in childhood. Overall, this study suggests that different domains of socio-emotional development influence each other over development. Adolescence is characterised by an increase in temporal connections, which may be one factor underlying the increased vulnerability to the onset of mental health problems during that period.

Subjective well-being among AIDS orphans in southwest China: the role of school connectedness, peer support, and resilience

BACKGROUND

Few studies have explored the health and development of AIDS orphans using the positive youth development (PYD) framework. Grounded in this framework, the main objective of this study is to examine how internal assets (i.e., resilience) and external assets (i.e., school connectedness, peer support) affect subjective well-being among Yi AIDS orphans in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted by interviewing 571 AIDS orphans and 979 non-orphans of Yi ethnic minority from 5th-10th grades. Structural equation models (SEM) were utilized to identify and estimate the direct and indirect effects of internal and external assets on subjective well-being.

RESULTS

The average score of subjective well-being was significantly lower for AIDS orphans than for in non-orphans (P < 0.05). Resilience, school connectedness, peer support (number of friends, caring friends), and self-rated physical health had significant and positive direct effects on subjective well-being. In addition, the effects of school connectedness, and peer support on subjective well-being were mediated by resilience.

CONCLUSIONS

Positive individual and school-related contextual assets can bolster subjective well-being among AIDS orphans. The design of health intervention programs for AIDS orphans should incorporate these positive development assets.