Journal of Youth and Adolescence最新文献

Research has demonstrated the predictive effect of peer victimization on adolescent suicidal ideation. However, few studies have explored the bidirectional relations between peer victimization and suicidal ideation and how insomnia symptoms mediate these bidirectional relations. The present study examined reciprocal relations between peer victimization (i.e., physical and relational victimization) and suicidal ideation and the potential mediating role of insomnia symptoms and sex differences by disentangling between- and within-person effects. A total of 4731 students (44.9% girls; Mage = 10.91 years, SD = 0.52) participated in a four-wave longitudinal study with 6-month intervals. Results from random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling indicated significant positive associations between peer victimization, insomnia symptoms, and suicidal ideation at the between-person level. At the within-person level, significant sex differences were identified in the bidirectional associations between physical or relational victimization, insomnia symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Specifically, boys showed significant bidirectional associations between physical victimization and suicidal ideation. In contrast, for girls, suicidal ideation significantly predicted subsequent physical victimization, but the reverse pathway was not significant. Furthermore, no significant cross-lagged associations were found between relational victimization and suicidal ideation among boys. However, for girls, relational victimization and suicidal ideation demonstrated significant cross-lagged effects. Significant bidirectional associations between physical victimization and insomnia symptoms were observed in both boys and girls. For girls, insomnia symptoms significantly mediated the bidirectional relations between physical victimization and suicidal ideation, but the bidirectional relations between relational victimization and insomnia symptoms were not supported. For boys, while both physical and relational victimization significantly predicted insomnia symptoms, insomnia symptoms did not predict suicidal ideation. In the reverse pathway, insomnia symptoms mediated the pathway from suicidal ideation to physical victimization among boys. The findings underscore the importance of considering both sex differences and insomnia symptoms in understanding the pathways linking peer victimization to suicidal ideation, offering valuable insights for targeted interventions.

Existing research has predominantly relied on the perspective of a single informant to investigate the association between maternal psychological control and adolescent depressive symptoms, providing only limited insight into these complex dynamics. To provide a more nuanced understanding, the present study employed polynomial regression with response surface analysis (RSA) to investigate how mother-adolescent consistency and discrepancy in perceived maternal psychological control was associated with adolescent depressive symptoms, as well as the moderating roles of adolescent gender and age in these relationships. A total of 929 Chinese adolescents (463 girls, M_age = 12.56 years, SD_age = 1.91) and their mothers participated in the study. Mothers and adolescents reported maternal psychological control, and adolescents self-reported their levels of depressive symptoms. Results indicated that high maternal psychological control reported by both informants predicted higher levels of adolescent depressive symptoms. A higher level of maternal psychological control as perceived by adolescents, compared to their mothers' reports, was positively correlated with greater adolescent depressive symptoms. Notably, these discrepancy effects were most pronounced among middle adolescent girls, indicating developmental and gender-specific vulnerability. These findings highlight that adolescents' perceptions of maternal psychological control and the extent to which these perceptions diverge from mothers' views are critical markers of depression risk, highlighting the need for gender- and age-sensitive parenting interventions.

While existing research has well documented child perfectionism as a risk factor for depressive symptoms, relatively limited studies have delved into the specific influence of parental child-oriented perfectionism on children's depressive symptoms. This study tracked 2228 Chinese adolescents (baseline M_age = 12.95 ± 0.79 years, 46.3% girls) with five measurements over three years. Using the Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM), results indicated that maternal (not paternal) child-oriented perfectionism had bidirectional links with children's maladaptive perfectionism. Children's maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms exhibited stable reciprocal prediction. SES and child sex moderate effects: three-way links were more stable in low SES families; boys showed more stable reciprocal prediction between maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms; maternal child-oriented perfectionism and girls' maladaptive perfectionism exhibited some reciprocal prediction. These findings provide insights into how parental child-oriented perfectionism as well as child maladaptive perfectionism was involved in the development of child depressive symptoms, thus informing strategies to cope with child depressive symptoms.

Adolescence is a period marked by significant changes in friendships; however, while existing research has focused on developmental trajectories of friendship quality, relatively less attention has been paid to fluctuations in friendship quality and their impact on psychological well-being. The present study sought to address this gap by examining whether and how friendship quality trajectories and fluctuations distinctly affect adolescent depressive symptoms. A sample of 1083 seventh-grade Chinese students (39.1% girls; baseline M_age = 12.91 years, SD = 0.40) from three public junior high schools participated in a four-wave longitudinal study. Results indicated that a declining friendship quality trajectory contributed to increased depressive symptoms, primarily through the mechanisms of reduced self-esteem and heightened insecurity. Beyond the influence of mean initial friendship quality and its trajectory, friendship quality fluctuations also predicted depressive symptoms through reduced self-esteem and heightened insecurity. These findings highlight the critical and distinct roles of friendship quality decline and fluctuations during adolescence, revealing how friendship quality changes shape adolescent depressive symptoms and providing valuable insights for developing targeted interventions to mitigate adolescent depression.

Many studies have emphasized the impact of negative social experiences (such as shyness and loneliness) on depressive symptoms in adolescents. However, studies examining the interplay and underlying mechanisms among these three constructs from the perspective of social motivation remain relatively scarce. Against this backdrop, this study employed the Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) to investigate the relationships among shyness, loneliness, and depressive symptoms from the perspective of two dominant types of social motivation development. Data were collected from 1214 Chinese adolescents (M_age = 15.46, SD_age = 0.71, 60.7% male) at three different time points, with each time point separated by six months. The results indicated that there are bidirectional relationships between shyness and the perceived social competence dimension of loneliness, and between the peer relationship evaluation dimension of loneliness and depressive symptoms. However, shyness only had a unidirectional predictive effect on depressive symptoms. The study also indicated that the marginally significant mediating role of the perceived social competence dimension of loneliness between shyness and depressive symptoms. Additionally, the research found no significant gender differences in shyness, loneliness, and depressive symptoms. These findings uncover the dynamic associations between shyness and the perceived social competence dimension of loneliness, and between the peer relationship evaluation dimension of loneliness and depressive symptoms, and emphasize the mediating role of the perceived social competence dimension of loneliness between shyness and depressive symptoms.

Belief in a just world has been widely regarded as a psychological factor that supports adolescent adjustment. However, prior research has primarily relied on cross-sectional designs and has seldom explored longitudinal temporal relations, particularly how emotional and behavioral difficulties might influence, and be influenced by, belief in a just world. This four-wave longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional associations between both personal and general belief in a just world and internalizing and externalizing problems among Chinese secondary vocational school students, a group facing unique academic and social risks. Participants included 3312 secondary vocational school students (41.5 percent female; average age at baseline = 15.71 years, standard deviation = 0.86), with data collected across four waves at six-month intervals. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models revealed robust reciprocal associations between personal belief in a just world and internalizing or externalizing problems. While general belief in a just world did not significantly predict internalizing problems, internalizing problems significantly predicted a decline in general belief in a just world. Externalizing problems significantly predicted subsequent declines in general belief in a just world. General belief in a just world predicted lower externalizing problems only from Time 3 to Time 4, suggesting a possible age-related effect. These findings underscore the developmental significance of belief in a just world as both a protective factor and a belief system that can be shaped by adolescents' emotional and behavioral functioning in educational contexts marked by disadvantage.

Status hierarchy, defined as within-group differentiation in individual status, ranging from egalitarian to hierarchical, is a common phenomenon in adolescents' peer groups. However, the implications of peer group status hierarchy for individual adjustment remain unclear in different social and cultural contexts. This two-wave longitudinal study with an interval of 10 months aimed to explore how peer group status hierarchy was associated with loneliness and how group support mediated the associations in Chinese and Canadian adolescents. Participants were fourth- to eighth-grade students in urban China (n = 787; 343 girls; Mage = 12.55 years) and Canada (n = 1033; 589 girls; Mage = 11.81 years). Data on group status hierarchy, group support, and loneliness were obtained from self-reports. Results indicated that greater status hierarchy within groups was associated with higher loneliness in both countries. However, the mediating effect of group support differed. In Canada, greater group status hierarchy predicted lower peer support, leading to increased loneliness, whereas in China, greater status hierarchy predicted higher peer support, which subsequently reduced loneliness. These findings highlight both similarities and differences in the functional meanings of adolescents' peer group hierarchy in Chinese and North American societies.

Disadvantaged socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with elevated internalizing symptoms in adolescents and is potentially mediated by accelerated pubertal development. Neighborhood SES may have distinct effects beyond family influences, interacting with family SES to shape adolescents' development. The present study examines the combined effects of family and neighborhood SES on pubertal development trajectory and internalizing symptoms and explores the mediating role of pubertal trajectory. This study included 5560 early adolescents (46.51% female; aged 9-10 years at baseline; M_age = 9.48; SD = 0.51) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study across four annual assessments. Three pubertal development trajectories were identified: "early-onset with slow progression", "late-onset with rapid catch-up", and "late-onset with slow catch-up". The results revealed that accelerated pubertal trajectories mediated the association between multilevel SES disparities and internalizing symptoms. For adolescents from high-SES families, high neighborhood SES reduced the likelihood of early-onset and rapid catch-up trajectories, which were linked to fewer internalizing symptoms. However, for adolescents from low-SES families, higher neighborhood SES increased the likelihood of early-onset and rapid catch-up trajectories, which were associated with more internalizing symptoms. Sex differences were observed, with neighborhood SES predicting pubertal trajectories in males but not in females, and the rapid catch-up trajectory was associated with fewer anxious/depressed symptoms in males but more internalizing symptoms in females. This study emphasizes the crucial role of family and neighborhood SES disparities in shaping adolescent pubertal development, which in turn affects internalizing symptoms.

Peer cliques shape adolescents' behavior patterns and value norms, while also influencing their perceptions of parenting practices and emotional experiences. Although the relationship between parental psychological control and adolescent adjustment issues has received increasing attention, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship, particularly from the perspective of peer cliques remain unclear. Based on both the individual and peer levels, this study employed a multilevel model to investigate the roles of individual self-esteem and clique support norms in the bidirectional relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptoms. A total of 904 middle school students from Shaanxi Province, China (43% girls; M_age = 12.73, SD = 0.43) participated in this three-wave longitudinal study (initiated in 2015, with a one-year interval). Results indicated that T1 depressive symptoms could influence T3 depressive symptoms and parental psychological control through T2 self-esteem, and high clique support norms strengthened the negative association between T1 depressive symptoms and T2 self-esteem, particularly in all-boys cliques. These findings reveal that while focusing on the important role of self-esteem in adolescent mental health interventions, more attention should be paid to the potential negative effects of high peer support norms on depressed individuals.