A Latent Transition Analysis of Aggression Victimization Patterns During the Transition from Primary to Middle School.

School transitions provide contexts for adolescents to reconstruct peer relationships and re-establish social positions. Scarce research has captured the transition of aggressor and victim roles during this period and examined associated factors. To investigate the stability and shifts of aggressor and victim roles following the transition to middle school, this study conducted latent transition analysis with 1261 Chinese adolescents (32.6% female, Mage in Grade 6 = 12.1 years, SD = 0.7). Three subgroups were identified across Grades 5 to 8: aggressive-victims, victims and uninvolved. Adolescents were more likely to transition from aggressive-victim and victim roles to the uninvolved group during the transition to middle school compared to the transitions within the same educational phase. Males and those with insecure parental attachment were at higher risk of being and remaining in the involved groups. The findings underscore the dynamic nature of adolescent aggression and victimization and highlight the transition to middle school as a critical window for interventions aimed at helping adolescents disengage from aggression and victimization.

Symptom structure of posttraumatic stress disorder in workplace trauma: A "distraction-avoidance" pattern.

BACKGROUND: Individuals who experience a workplace trauma are at a high risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most of these people return to work soon after the trauma (i.e., experience early-stage natural exposure). This study aims to explore the response pattern of workers who have experienced a workplace trauma and early-stage natural exposure through network analysis and provide insights into the potential impact of early-stage natural exposure. METHODS: Our study included 278 workers directly experiencing the workplace explosion in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone. A partial correlation network analysis was used to explore the PTSD symptoms relationship and identify central symptoms. RESULTS: The results suggest that emotional numbness, difficulty in concentration, re-experiencing symptoms, and avoidance of thoughts are the most central symptoms, reflecting a "distraction-avoidance" pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The current study found that workers who experienced workplace trauma exhibited a "distraction-avoidance" pattern, which helps deepen our understanding of the PTSD network and leads to some suggestions on intervention measures.

Time course of attentional bias and its relationship with PTSD symptoms in bereaved Chinese parents who have lost their only child.

Background: The death of a child is a highly traumatic event for parents and often leads to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Attentional bias has been demonstrated in the onset and maintenance of PTSD symptoms.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the time course of attentional bias among bereaved Chinese parents who have lost their only child (Shidu parents), and to examine its relationship with PTSD symptoms and symptom clusters.Methods: Shidu parents (n = 38; 50-72 years of age) completed a dot-probe task with negative (trauma-related), positive, and neutral images at four stimulus presentation times (250, 500, 750, and 1250 ms). PTSD symptoms were measured by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5).Results: We observed difficulty in disengaging from both negative and positive stimuli at 750 ms and attentional bias away from negative stimuli at 1250 ms. At 1250 ms, attentional avoidance of trauma-related stimuli was positively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores. Difficulty in disengaging from positive stimuli was negatively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores as well as negative alterations in cogniti and mood scores.Conclusions: These findings enhance our understanding of attentional bias and cognitive-affective processing in PTSD. This study provides evidence that attentional bias (difficulty in disengaging from positive stimuli and bias away from negative stimuli) are correlated with PTSD symptoms and certain symptom clusters.

The current study examined the time course of attentional bias among bereaved Chinese parents who have lost their only child through a dot-probe task and investigated its relationship with PTSD symptoms and symptom clusters.Participants exhibited difficulty in disengaging from both trauma-related and positive stimuli at 750 ms and exhibited attentional avoidance of trauma-related stimuli at 1250 ms.Attentional avoidance of trauma-related stimuli was positively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores. Difficulty in disengaging from positive stimuli was negatively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores as well as negative alterations in cognition and mood scores.

A profile analysis of problematic smartphone usage among college students during coronavirus disease 2019: Relations with the impact of news reports.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was the first pandemic to occur in a fully globalized society. The aims of the study were to explore the state of problematic smartphone use (PSU) and its risk factors during this incident. A total of 77,211 college students were surveyed online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducting latent profile analysis (LPA), we found the most support for a three-class model of subgroups: over-use group (17.3% of the sample), moderate-use group (54.8% of the sample), mild-use group (27.9% of the sample). The results of multinomial logistic regression show that college students who experienced an extreme negative impact from news reports were more likely to be included in the over-use group than in the mild-use group. These results providing insights that may help foster and develop appropriate and effective solutions to prevent PSU among college students during crises, such as reducing the coverage of negative news report. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03896-0.

Symptom Structure of Depression in Older Adults on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: A Network Analysis.

Previous studies have confirmed that depression among residents in high-altitude areas is more severe, and that depression may be more persistent and disabling in older adults. This study aims to identify the symptom structure of depression among older adults on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (the highest plateau in the world) from a network perspective. This cross-sectional study enrolled 507 older adults (ages 60-80 years old) from the Yushu Prefecture, which is on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Depressive symptoms were self-reported using the shortened Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D-10). Then, a Gaussian graphical model (GGM) of depression was developed. Poor sleep, fear, and hopelessness about the future exhibited high centrality in the network. The strongest edge connections emerged between unhappiness and hopelessness about the future, followed by hopelessness about the future and fear; hopelessness about the future and poor sleep; fear and unhappiness; and then poor sleep and unhappiness in the network. The findings of this current study add to the small body of literature on the network structure and complex relationships between depressive symptoms in older adults in high-altitude areas.

Mental Health of COVID-19 Survivors at 6 and 12 Months Postdiagnosis: A Cohort Study.

Objective: As COVID-19 persists around the world, it is necessary to explore the long-term mental health effects in COVID-19 survivors. In this study, we investigated the mental health outcomes of survivors of COVID-19 at 6 and 12 months postdiagnosis. Methods: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD checklist for the DSM-5, PCL-5), depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, GAD-7), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC-10), perceived social support (PSSS), personality traits (Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory-15, CBF-PI-15), and sociodemographic information were examined among 511 survivors of COVID-19 (48.1%, females; M age = 56.23 years at first assessment) at 6 and 12 months postdiagnosis. The data were analyzed with Wilcoxon signed rank tests and multivariable logistic regression models. Results: The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 6 and 12 months after diagnosis was 13.31% and 6.26%; 20.35% and 11.94%; and 13.11% and 6.07%, respectively. The risk factors for all symptoms were as follows: higher neuroticism; lower openness, extraversion, agreeableness, and resilience; greater life disruptions due to COVID-19; poorer living standards; and increased symptoms of PTSD or depression at 6 months postdiagnosis. Conclusion: The mental health of COVID-19 survivors improved between 6 and 12 months postdiagnosis. Mental health workers should pay long-term attention to this group, especially to survivors with risk factors.

Symptom structure of posttraumatic stress disorder after parental bereavement - a network analysis of Chinese parents who have lost their only child.

BACKGROUND: The death of a child is a highly traumatic event and often leads to mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies have focused on overall PTSD after the loss of an only child; however, little attention has been given to PTSD at the symptom level. This study aims to identify the network structure of PTSD symptoms in bereaved parents who have lost their only child, known as Shidu parents in Chinese society. METHODS: A cross-sectional study enrolled 385 bereaved individuals who had lost an only child across 10 cities in China from November 2016 to July 2017. PTSD symptoms were measured by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Network analysis was implemented by using the R packages qgraph and bootnet. RESULTS: The PTSD network revealed that diminished interest, exaggerated startle, irritability/anger, and nightmares were the most central symptoms. The strongest connections emerged between the symptoms of recurrent thoughts and nightmares, irritability/anger and reckless/self-destructive behavior, and hypervigilance and exaggerated startle. LIMITATIONS: We utilized cross-sectional data, and it is therefore not possible to infer the evolution of the symptom network over time. In addition, participants were limited to parents who had lost an only child, and the findings of this study must be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides further clarity regarding how PTSD symptoms relate to each other in bereaved parents who have lost an only child. Symptoms with high centrality and connectedness may be viable targets for intervention in bereaved parents who have lost an only child.

Erratum: Eli, B., et al. Depression in Children and Adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Associations with Resilience and Prosocial Behavior. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 440.

There was a small mistake in the sixth paragraph of the Discussion: the positions of two words ("positively" and "negatively") should be exchanged [...].

Depression in Children and Adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Associations with Resilience and Prosocial Behavior.

Depression in children and adolescents has become a serious public health problem worldwide. The objectives of this study were twofold: first, to investigate the status of depression among children and adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest plateau in the world, with an average altitude of more than 4200 m (13,776 feet), and second, to examine the associations among prosocial behavior, resilience, and depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted among children and adolescents from Yushu Prefecture on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A total of 11,160 participants aged 10-17 years (Mage = 14.34 years, SD = 1.77; 51.4% girls) were included. Self-reported depression, resilience, and prosocial behavior were assessed. The prevalence of depression was 29.2% in the current study. Higher levels of prosocial behavior were significantly associated with lower levels of depression (ß = -0.25, p < 0.001). Furthermore, resilience significantly moderated the relationship between prosocial behavior and depression (ß = -0.08, p < 0.001); that is, resilience enhanced the protective role of prosocial behavior in depression. These findings indicate that resilience may play an important role in the associations between prosocial behavior and depression, which suggests that improving resilience is essential for the prevention and intervention of depression among children and adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

A profile analysis of post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms among Chinese Shidu parents.

BACKGROUND: Due to the one-child policy implemented in China, most families have only one child. When parents experience the death of their only child, these parents receive the label 'Shidu parents'. Shidu is a major public health issue in China. However, the patterns of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms that are present in this population remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify profiles of PTSD and depressive symptoms among Shidu parents and to explore the predictors of profile membership. METHODS: A total of 363 participants (M age = 61.5 years, SD = 7.5) were asked to complete questionnaires assessing PTSD, depressive symptoms, perceived social support, and demographic information. Latent profile analyses and multivariate logistic regressions were used. RESULTS: Three distinct profiles were identified: low (39.4%), moderate (32.8%), and high symptoms (27.8%). Parents who were younger and perceived lower levels of support from family and significant others were more likely to experience higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the severity of PTSD and depressive symptoms tightly cohere, providing evidence for the co-occurrence of PTSD and depressive symptoms after bereavement. The findings provide valuable information for the development of tailored professional interventions for bereaved parents.

Antecedentes: Debido a la política de un hijo implementada en China, la mayoría de las familias tienen sólo un hijo. Cuando los padres experimentan la muerte de su único hijo, estos padres reciben la etiqueta de 'padres shidu'. Shidu es un gran problema de salud pública en China. Sin embargo, los patrones del trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y de los síntomas de depresión que se presentan en esta población no están claros.Objetivo: Este estudio busca identificar los perfiles del TEPT y de los síntomas depresivos entre los padres shidu y explorar los predictores de la pertenencia al perfil.Método: Se le solicitó a un total de 363 participantes (M edad = 61.5 años, DE = 7.5) que completaran cuestionarios para evaluar TEPT, síntomas depresivos, apoyo social, e información demográfica. Se usaron análisis de perfil latente y regresiones logísticas multivariadas.Resultados: Tres perfiles distintivos fueron identificados: síntomas bajos (39.4%), moderados (32.8%), y altos (27.8%). Los padres que eran más jóvenes y que reportaron niveles más bajos de apoyo desde la familia y otros tenían más probabilidades de experimentar altos niveles de TEPT y síntomas depresivos.Conclusiones: Estos resultados indican que la severidad del TEPT y los síntomas depresivos coinciden estrechamente, proporcionando evidencia para la co-occurrencia del TEPT y los síntomas depresivos luego de la pérdida. Los hallazgos proveen información valiosa para el desarrollo de intervenciones profesionales a la medida para los padres en duelo.

Trajectories of PTSD symptoms among children who survived the Lushan earthquake: A four-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among child survivors of the Lushan earthquake by using latent category growth analysis. METHODS: In total, 304 students from a school located in Lushan County were assessed by UCLA PTSD-RI at 1.5, 6, 12, 24 and 48 months after the earthquake. The children ages ranged from 9 to 17 years old at the time of the first assessment, and the sample included 140 males and 164 females. RESULTS: Four trajectories of PTSD symptoms were found, namely, resilience (53.8%), low symptoms (32.6%), recovery (7.0%), and chronic dysfunction (6.6%). Then, a logistic regression analysis that controlled for gender and grade showed that compared with the resilience group, children with an injury or probable acute stress disorder (ASD) were likely to be in the recovery group, children with probable ASD were more likely to be in the low-symptoms group, and children with a bad relationship with their father were more likely to be in the chronic group. LIMITATIONS: The participants were selected by convenience principle. All children received an intervention after the earthquake. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that increasing children's social support may relieve children's PTSD symptoms. We should consider both perceived threat and object exposure in future studies. The posttraumatic stress response was very high and was unstable during the first month after the earthquake, which suggests that psychological first aid is necessary in posttraumatic events.