The Relationship Between Family Functioning and Internalizing Problems in Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

Peer attachment and self-esteem mediate the relationship between family function and social anxiety in migrant children in China

BACKGROUND

Social anxiety is a frequently reported symptom in children and adolescents. The literature suggests that family function is related to symptoms of social anxiety in children. However, relatively little is known about the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between family function and social anxiety. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to examine the roles of peer attachment and self-esteem in the relationship between family function and social anxiety in a sample of migrant children in China.

METHODS

A total of 437 participants (54.9% male; meanage  = 10.87 years) were selected from two public schools of migrant children in two areas of Hangzhou and Jiaxing, the major labor-importing cities in China, in May 2016. All participants completed four questionnaires assessing family function, peer attachment, self-esteem, and social anxiety.

RESULTS

The results showed that family function was bivariately and significantly related to symptoms of social anxiety. Additionally, self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between family function and social anxiety peer attachment. Moreover, the relationship between family function and social anxiety was fully mediated by peer attachment and self-esteem (in that order).

CONCLUSIONS

Peer attachment and self-esteem serve as critical pathways linking family function and social anxiety. Thus, tailored interventions should consider the roles of peer attachment and self-esteem to alleviate symptoms of social anxiety in migrant children.

Vicious circle of family dysfunction and adolescent internet addiction: Do only child and non-only child exhibit differences?

The primary aim of the current study was to probe the longitudinal relationships between family dysfunction (FD) and adolescent Internet addiction (IA), as well as the group difference between only child and non-only child. Data were from a three-wave longitudinal data of 1301 Chinese adolescents, collected when adolescents were at Grade 7, Grade 8, and Grade 9. FD and IA were assessed via adolescent self-reported questionaries of Chinese Family Assessment Instrument and Internet Addiction Test. Cross-lagged panel model was constructed to estimate possible associations between FD and adolescent IA after controlling for demographic variables. Our results suggest that adolescents might get stuck in a vicious cycle of dysfunctional family and addictive Internet use: adolescents who lived in a dysfunctional family showed increased risk in IA in the subsequent year; in turn, adolescent IA further increased the possibility of FD. Moreover, multigroup comparison analysis revealed that the vicious cycle between FD and adolescent IA could be applied to both the only child and the non-only child. The findings may enrich the application of the Developmental Contextualism Theory and contribute to the identification of the starting points for intervention strategies of adolescent IA.

Cyberbullying and internet gaming disorder in Chinese youth: The role of positive youth development attributes

Introduction

As digital natives, young people enjoy the convenience and benefits of the internet but also suffer from unique developmental problems of this age, such as cyberbullying and internet gaming disorder (IGD). Research suggests that these online problem behaviors enjoy high prevalence and various negative impacts. To prevent or intervene, this study attempts to explore the association between cyberbullying and IGD and the potential protectors from the positive youth development (PYD) perspective.

Methods

Through the convenience sampling method, a sample of 463 Chinese adolescents was recruited and participated in the survey. They completed a questionnaire regarding PYD attributes, cyberbullying, IGD, and demographic information.

Results

After controlling adolescents' sex and age, results of regression analyses indicated that cyberbullying was positively associated with IGD; PYD attributes had negative cumulative effects on cyberbullying and IGD; and cyberbullying and IGD were negatively related to PYD attributes. Moreover, the mediating effect of PYD attributes was significant in the relationship between cyberbullying and IGD.

Discussion

Specifically, it is very possible for adolescents who have experienced one online problem behavior to suffer from another one. Fortunately, positive personal attributes could effectively buffer this cascading effect. These findings may provide theoretical and practical guidance for practitioners that improving PYD attributes may be a promising approach to prevent or reduce adolescent cyberbullying and IGD.

The Association Between Family Function and Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms in China: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Analysis

The complex interrelationships between family function and adolescents' depressive symptoms are not yet fully clarified, especially in China. Based on the family systems theory, this study explored the relationships between family function and Chinese adolescents' depressive symptoms by a 3-year longitudinal study design. Three waves of data were collected from 1,301 Chinese middle school students in Grade 7 to Grade 9. All participants completed the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument (CFAI) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) once a year during the junior middle school period. Our results showed that both family function and adolescent depressive symptoms were stable in Grade 7 and Grade 8, but in Grade 9, family function increased and depressive symptoms declined. Furthermore, we found that the family function in Grade 7 negatively influenced depressive symptoms of adolescents in Grade 8, while adolescent depressive symptoms in Grade 8 negatively impacted subsequent family function in Grade 9, namely there was a circular effect between family function and adolescent depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that the associations between family function and adolescents' depressive symptoms are dynamic and time-dependent. Our study contributes to the intervention aimed at the reduction of adolescent depressive symptoms from the family perspective.