Self-disgust mediates the effect of problematic mobile social media use on non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents: A latent growth curve analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research linked problematic mobile social media use to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, little research explored the underlying mechanism. Drawing on the social displacement hypothesis, which suggests that excessive social media use may disrupt offline social interactions, leading to negative emotional experiences, the study employs a longitudinal design to explore the relationship between problematic mobile social media use and NSSI, with a specific emphasis on the mediating role of self-disgust. METHODS: A total of 1,684 Chinese adolescents (52.3% females; Mage = 14.59 years, SDage = 1.27) completed self-report questionnaires regarding problematic mobile social media use, self-disgust, and NSSI. The assessment was conducted in three waves, 6 months apart. RESULTS: Using latent growth curve and structural equation modeling, our study observed a consistent linear decline in NSSI levels over time. Higher initial NSSI levels correlated with a slower reduction. Problematic mobile social media use positively influenced the initial level of NSSI. Additionally, self-disgust played a mediating role in the relationship between problematic mobile social media use and NSSI. CONCLUSIONS: The study underscores the importance of understanding the emotional experiences behind social media use, beyond mere usage duration. By revealing the mediating role of self-disgust, it provides new insights into the complex interplay between problematic mobile social media use and adolescent NSSI.

Patterns and Transitions of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Outcome Expectancies and Their Associations with Nonsuicidal Self-Injury among Adolescents.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) outcome expectancies (i.e., the expectations that certain outcomes will follow NSSI) have been confirmed to predict NSSI engagement. However, it remains unclear whether adolescents hold different patterns of NSSI outcome expectancies and therefore vary in their risks of NSSI engagement. Moreover, little is known about whether patterns transition over time, influencing the development of NSSI. Additionally, possible gender differences in the patterns and their transitions need to be explored. This study aims to address these research gaps. A total of 679 adolescents (55.8% females; Mage = 15.19, SDage = 1.40) completed questionnaires and were surveyed semiannually for three times. Using latent profile analysis, regular latent transition analysis, and random intercept latent transition analysis, this study identified four patterns of NSSI outcome expectancies: High Affect Regulation and Moderate Negative Expectancies, Low Negative Expectancies, High Negative Expectancies, and High Communication and Negative Expectancies. The first two patterns showed high risks of NSSI, whereas the latter two patterns showed low risks of NSSI. Low Negative Expectancies was an unstable pattern. It had higher probabilities of transitioning to another high-risk pattern than transitioning to the low-risk patterns. The other three patterns had high stability. Gender had no significant effects on the four patterns or their transitions. The findings highlight the combined effects of NSSI outcome expectancies and underscore that NSSI outcome expectancies may change over time. Prevention and interventions targeting multiple factors corresponding to these expectancies should be developed.

A major QTL simultaneously increases the number of spikelets per spike and thousand-kernel weight in a wheat line.

KEY MESSAGE: A novel and stably expressed QTL QSNS.sicau-SSY-7A for spikelet number per spike in wheat without negative effects on thousand-kernel weight was identified and validated in different genetic backgrounds. Spikelet number per spike (SNS) is an important determinant of yield in wheat. In the present study, we combined bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and the wheat 660 K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array to rapidly identify genomic regions associated with SNS from a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between the wheat lines S849-8 and SY95-71. A genetic map was constructed using Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR markers in the SNP-enriched region on the long arm of chromosome 7A. A major and stably expressed QTL, QSNS.sicau-SSY-7A, was detected in multiple environments. It was located in a 1.6 cM interval on chromosome arm 7AL flanked by the markers AX-109983514 and AX-109820548. This QTL explained 6.86-15.72% of the phenotypic variance, with LOD values ranging from 3.66 to 8.66. Several genes associated with plant growth and development were identified in the interval where QSNS.sicau-SSY-7A was located on the 'Chinese Spring' wheat and wild emmer reference genomes. Furthermore, the effects of QSNS.sicau-SSY-7A and WHEAT ORTHOLOG OFAPO1(WAPO1) on SNS were analyzed. Interestingly, QSNS.sicau-SSY-7A significantly increased SNS without negative effects on thousand-kernel weight, anthesis date and plant height, demonstrating its great potential for breeding aimed at improving grain yield. Taken together, these results indicate that QSNS.sicau-SSY-7A is a promising locus for yield improvement, and its linkage markers are helpful for fine mapping and molecular breeding.

Internet addiction and nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescence: Associations with offline and online social support.

OBJECTIVES: Both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and Internet addiction (IA) are important health issues for adolescents, and social support has been extensively examined as a protective factor for both. This study aims to compare the effect of offline and online social support on IA, and that on NSSI as well. METHOD: A total of 1911 Chinese adolescents (53.27% females, Mage = 16.83 ± 0.37) completed self-report questionnaires assessing offline social support, online social support, IA, and NSSI. RESULTS: The structural equation modeling analysis showed that offline social support was negatively associated with IA and NSSI, while online social support was positively associated with IA and NSSI; IA was positively associated with NSSI. Furthermore, implications for preventions and interventions of IA and NSSI were discussed. The indirect model explained a relatively small variance of NSSI, indicating the possibility of additional factors in the development of NSSI that should be further investigated. CONCLUSION: This study indicated the differences between offline and online social support, and their different associations with IA and NSSI.

Genetic identification and characterization of chromosomal regions for kernel length and width increase from tetraploid wheat.

BACKGROUND: Improvement of wheat gercTriticum aestivum L.) yield could relieve global food shortages. Kernel size, as an important component of 1000-kernel weight (TKW), is always a significant consideration to improve yield for wheat breeders. Wheat related species possesses numerous elite genes that can be introduced into wheat breeding. It is thus vital to explore, identify, and introduce new genetic resources for kernel size from wheat wild relatives to increase wheat yield. RESULTS: In the present study, quantitative trait loci (QTL) for kernel length (KL) and width (KW) were detected in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between a wild emmer accession 'LM001' and a Sichuan endemic tetraploid wheat 'Ailanmai' using the Wheat 55 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array-based constructed linkage map and phenotype from six different environments. We identified eleven QTL for KL and KW including two major ones QKL.sicau-AM-3B and QKW.sicau-AM-4B, the positive alleles of which were from LM001 and Ailanmai, respectively. They explained 17.57 to 44.28% and 13.91 to 39.01% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. For these two major QTL, Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers were developed and used to successfully validate their effects in three F3 populations and two natural populations containing a panel of 272 Chinese wheat landraces and that of 300 Chinese wheat cultivars, respectively. QKL.sicau-AM-3B was located at 675.6-695.4 Mb on chromosome arm 3BL. QKW.sicau-AM-4B was located at 444.2-474.0 Mb on chromosome arm 4BL. Comparison with previous studies suggested that these two major QTL were likely new loci. Further analysis indicated that the positive alleles of QKL.sicau-AM-3B and QKW.sicau-AM-4B had a great additive effect increasing TKW by 6.01%. Correlation analysis between KL and other agronomic traits showed that KL was significantly correlated to spike length, length of uppermost internode, TKW, and flag leaf length. KW was also significantly correlated with TKW. Four genes, TRIDC3BG062390, TRIDC3BG062400, TRIDC4BG037810, and TRIDC4BG037830, associated with kernel development were predicted in physical intervals harboring these two major QTL on wild emmer and Chinese Spring reference genomes. CONCLUSIONS: Two stable and major QTL for KL and KW across six environments were detected and verified in three biparental populations and two natural populations. Significant relationships between kernel size and yield-related traits were identified. KASP markers tightly linked the two major QTL could contribute greatly to subsequent fine mapping. These results suggested the application potential of wheat related species in wheat genetic improvement.

Bullying Experiences and Nonsuicidal Self-injury among Chinese Adolescents: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Model.

Bullying experiences play an important role in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, little is known about how and in what conditions different bullying experiences (i.e., experiences of being pure bullies, pure victims, and bully-victims) may influence NSSI. Guided by the transactional model of development and the integrated model of NSSI, the current study investigated two potential mediators (i.e., peer acceptance and depressive symptoms) and one potential moderator (i.e., psychological resilience) of the relations between different bullying experiences and NSSI. Participants were 812 Chinese adolescents (43% female; Mage at Wave 1 = 13.15 years) from a two-wave longitudinal study with data spanning 1 year. The results show that all three types of bullying experiences can relate to a higher likelihood of NSSI through two indirect pathways: (a) lower peer acceptance to more depressive symptoms, or (b) more depressive symptoms. These indirect effects were weaker for adolescents with higher (versus lower) levels of psychological resilience. Moreover, when bully-victims were distinguished from pure bullies and pure victims and the unique effects for all three groups were tested, the direct and indirect effects were most evident among bully-victims. These findings imply that it is necessary to distinguish bully-victims from pure bullies and pure victims. The results indicate that NSSI may be effectively reduced if interventions focus on promoting peer acceptance and reducing adolescent depressive symptoms, particularly for bully-victims with lower levels of psychological resilience.

Prevalence and psychosocial risk factors of nonsuicidal self-injury among adolescents during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The research investigated the prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) during the COVID-19 outbreak and identified the psychosocial risk factors among junior high school students in Taiwan. Cross-sectional design was applied and 1,060 participants (Mage = 14.66, SD = 0.86 years) were recruited into the study. The prevalence of NSSI was found to be 40.9% (95% confidence interval, 37.9%-43.9%) during the COVID-19 outbreak. The results suggested that the self-injurers group were mostly female, and scored significantly higher in neuroticism, depression, impulsivity, alexithymia, virtual social support, dissatisfaction with academic performance, and lower in subjective wellbeing, self-esteem, actual social support, and family function than the non-injurers group. In addition, high neuroticism, low self-esteem, high virtual social support, high impulsivity, and high alexithymia were independently predictive in the logistic regression analysis. The principal results of this study suggested that NSSI was extremely prevalent among adolescents during the COVID-19 outbreak, and in particularly, personality and virtual environment risk factors and enhancing self-esteem should be the focus of NSSI preventive strategies when targeting this age population. Our results provide a reference towards designing NSSI prevention programs geared toward the high school population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-compassion and family cohesion moderate the association between suicide ideation and suicide attempts in Chinese adolescents.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, many studies have examined risks factors that facilitated the transition from suicide ideation to suicide attempts. Few studies, however, have examined protective factors against this transition. The current study thus assessed two protective factors, self-compassion and family cohesion, in buffering the transition from suicide ideation to suicide attempts. METHOD: A number of 520 Chinese adolescents (43.46% females, mean age = 12.96 years) completed questionnaires assessing self-compassion, family cohesion, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts two times with a 12-month interval. RESULTS: Self-compassion significantly moderated the association between Wave 1 SI and later SA. The positive dimension of self-compassion thwarted the transition from SI and SA, and the negative dimension of self-compassion strengthened the associations. In addition, family cohesion also significantly moderated the transition from SI to SA. CONCLUSION: Increasing the levels of self-compassion and family cohesion may be the targets for treating adolescents with suicide ideation to prevent them from attempting suicide.

Effects of a short midday nap on habitual nappers' alertness, mood and mental performance across cognitive domains.

This study examines whether the benefits of a short midday nap on habitual nappers' mental performance depend on the cognitive domain and the task difficulty. Eighteen healthy college students with the long-term habit of a midday nap (13:00-14:00 hours) participated in a nap-deprivation study. On two separate days with at least 3 days in between, participants either took a nap or remained awake, and were subsequently tested on a simple sustained attention task (Psychomotor Vigilance Test), two more complex attention tasks (Go/No-Go and Flanker task) and one working memory task (2-back). For each task, an easy and a difficult version were administered. The time course of subjective sleepiness and mood were also measured in both napping conditions. The results revealed that short midday nap deprivation significantly impaired participants' performance on both the easy and difficult versions of the Psychomotor Vigilance Test task, as well as accuracy but not reaction speed in the Go/No-Go task. Accuracy in the difficult version of the Flanker task and the 2-back task was also lower in the no-nap condition, while reaction speed in the 2-back task but not the Flanker task was reduced without a nap in both the easy and difficult versions. Moreover, subjective sleepiness was significantly increased after nap deprivation, but moods remained unaffected in the no-nap condition. These findings contribute to current research suggesting that effects of a midday nap on task performance depend on the cognitive domain as well as task difficulty. Our study highlights the importance of considering task characteristics to evaluate the benefits of a regular midday nap in practical working life.

The associations among self-criticism, hopelessness, rumination, and NSSI in adolescents: A moderated mediation model.

INTRODUCTION: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a pervasive public health problem among adolescents. Self-criticism has been identified as an important risk factor for NSSI. Potential mediators of the relationship between self-criticism and NSSI and potential moderators that may exacerbate or buffer this association, however, have seldom been explored. The current study tested the mediating effect of hopelessness and the moderating effect of rumination. METHODS: 915 Chinese participants (405 girls; mean age = 15.85, SD = 1.47) were recruited from junior and senior high schools. They completed questionnaires regarding self-criticism, hopelessness, rumination, and NSSI. RESULTS: Self-criticism was significantly associated with NSSI, and this association was mediated by hopelessness. Rumination strengthened the association between self-criticism and hopelessness, as well as the association between hopelessness and NSSI. CONCLUSIONS: Although this study is a cross-sectional design, these findings can help researchers and practitioners understand the relationship among self-criticism, hopelessness, rumination, and NSSI. Moreover, implications for preventions and interventions of NSSI were discussed.

A longitudinal study testing the role of psychache in the association between emotional abuse and suicidal ideation.

OBJECTIVE: Research suggests that emotional abuse is associated with adolescent suicidal ideation. But how they are related is still unclear. The present study tested the temporal relationship between emotional abuse and suicidal ideation, with psychache as the potential mediator. We also examined the reciprocal relationship between psychache and suicidal ideation. METHOD: A number of 2,259 Chinese high school students (53.8% females, mean age = 15.11, SD = 1.57) in Hong Kong completed questionnaires assessing emotional abuse, psychache, and suicidal ideation three times at 6-month intervals. RESULTS: The results supported the mediating effect of psychache in the path from emotional abuse to suicidal ideation. In addition, psychache and suicidal ideation were related reciprocally over time. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study may help researchers and practitioners understand the pathways by which emotional abuse impacts adolescent suicidal ideation. Implications for preventions and interventions of suicidal ideation were discussed.

Peer Acceptance and Nonsuicidal Self-injury among Chinese Adolescents: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Model.

Peer relationship plays an important role in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, little is known about how and in what conditions peer relationship may influence NSSI. By integrating multiple theories (i.e., attachment theory, the emotional regulation model of self-compassion and NSSI, and the differential-susceptibility theory), the current study investigated two potential mediators (i.e., self-compassion and depressive symptoms) and one potential moderator (i.e., behavioral impulsivity) of the relation between peer acceptance and NSSI. Participants were 813 Chinese adolescents (43% female; Mage at Wave 1 = 13.15 years) from a two-wave longitudinal study with data spanning one year. The results revealed that the indirect pathways linking peer acceptance and NSSI were conditioned on the level of behavioral impulsivity. Specifically, for adolescents with lower levels of impulsivity, a higher level of peer acceptance was related to fewer depressive symptoms directly or indirectly through self-compassion; fewer depressive symptoms, in turn, were linked to fewer NSSI behaviors longitudinally. For adolescents with higher levels of behavioral impulsivity, peer acceptance was related to fewer NSSI behaviors only through self-compassion. Results indicate that increasing peer acceptance is important in reducing adolescent NSSI. Interventions designed to reduce adolescent NSSI may also be effective if they focus on promoting adolescent self-compassion, particularly for adolescents with higher levels of behavioral impulsivity.

Low self-esteem, entrapment, and reason for living: A moderated mediation model of suicidal ideation.

Adolescent suicidal ideation has become a top public health concern. It is thus significant to explore both risk and protective factors of adolescent suicidal ideation. The present study tested a moderated mediation model of suicidal ideation in a sample of Chinese adolescents. Chinese adolescents of 1074 (54.2% females, aged between 11 and 18 years) completed questionnaires assessing self-esteem, entrapment, reason for living, and suicidal ideation. We found that entrapment mediated the association between low self-esteem and suicidal ideation. The association between entrapment and suicidal ideation was moderated by reason for living. Findings of this study may expand our understanding of the development of suicidal ideation, and facilitate future research exploring the interplay of risk and protective factors of suicidality. Clinical implications of these findings were also discussed.

Prevalence of internet addiction and its risk and protective factors in a representative sample of senior high school students in Taiwan.

The aim of this study investigated the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) in a large representative sample of secondary school students and identified the risk and protective factors. Using a crosssectional design, 2170 participants were recruited from senior high schools throughout Taiwan using both stratified and cluster sampling. The prevalence of IA was 17.4% (95% confidence interval, 15.8%-19.0%). High impulsivity, low refusal self-efficacy of Internet use, high positive outcome expectancy of Internet use, high disapproving attitude of Internet use by others, depressive symptoms, low subjective well-being, high frequency of others' invitation to Internet use, and high virtual social support was all independently predictive in the logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of IA among secondary school students in Taiwan was high. Results from this study can be used to help educational agencies and mental health organizations create policies and design programs that will help in the prevention of IA in adolescents.

The reciprocal associations between identity disturbance, relationship disturbance, and suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents: A three-wave cross-lag study.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescence is a developmental period associated with a heightened risk for suicidal ideation. During this phase of life, individuals tend to focus on both intrapersonal self and interpersonal relationships. Thus, it is of much significance to understand the roles of intrapersonal and interpersonal factors in the development of suicidal ideation among adolescents. The present study examined the reciprocal associations between identity disturbance, relationship disturbance, and suicidal ideation by using a three-wave cross-lag model in a sample of adolescents. METHOD: A number of 3,600 Chinese adolescents (56.6% females, mean age = 14.58 years) completed questionnaires assessing the three main study variables as well as depressive symptoms, anxiety, and suicidal attempts three times at 6-month intervals. RESULTS: After controlling for gender, age, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and suicidal attempts, relationship disturbance significantly predicted suicidal ideation over time, and vice versa. Suicidal ideation significantly predicted identity disturbance over time, but not vice versa. We also found the mediating effect of relationship disturbance in the path from identity disturbance to suicidal ideation. CONCLUSION: The results suggested the important role of previous relationship disturbance in predicting later suicidal ideation. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings were discussed.

The mediating role of coping strategy in the association between family functioning and nonsuicidal self-injury among Taiwanese adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Nock's (2009) integrated theoretical model suggests that both intrapersonal and interpersonal factors contribute to the development of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Based on this model, the present study examined the roles of family functioning and coping strategy in predicting NSSI, as well as the mediating effect of coping strategy in the relationship between family functioning and NSSI. Gender differences on the associations of these variables were also examined. METHOD: A sample of 1,989 secondary school students (52.0% females) in Taiwan was assessed by self-report measures of perceived family functioning, coping strategy, and NSSI. RESULTS: Results showed that both family functioning and avoidance/emotion-focused coping strategy predicted NSSI. Additionally, the association between family functioning and NSSI was mediated by avoidance/emotion-focused coping strategy. Gender differences were not found on the associations among these study variables. CONCLUSIONS: These data provided evidences that the Nock's (2009) integrated theoretical model may help to explain how coping strategy mediates the effect of family functioning on NSSI. The implications of the findings for future research and intervention were discussed.

Distress Intolerance Mediates the Relationship between Child Maltreatment and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury among Chinese Adolescents: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a serious public health concern among adolescents. Identifying risk factors of NSSI is important to effectively prevent or reduce such behavior. Child maltreatment is one of the most widely recognized risk factors for NSSI. How child maltreatment and NSSI is related, however, is still unclear. The present study tested the temporal relationship between physical and emotional abuse and NSSI, with distress intolerance as the potential mediator. Potential gender differences on these associations were also tested. We assessed all study variables among 2259 Chinese adolescents (53.8% females; Mage = 15.11 years, SD = 1.57) for three times at 6-month intervals. The results showed that distress intolerance only mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and NSSI, but not between physical abuse and NSSI. In addition, this mediation effect of distress intolerance was significant only for females. The findings of this study can help researchers and practitioners understand pathways by which child maltreatment impacts adolescent NSSI. Implications for preventions and interventions of NSSI were discussed.

Developmental Trajectories of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescence and Intrapersonal/Interpersonal Risk Factors.

This 3-wave study investigated the developmental trajectories of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and intrapersonal/interpersonal risk factors among 3,381 Chinese adolescents (56.2% females) aged from 13 to 17 years during a 1-year period. Using an accelerated longitudinal design and latent class growth analysis, we identified four subgroups of NSSI trajectories: negligible (74.6%), experimental (12.8%), moderate decreasing (10.8%), and high fluctuating (1.9%). Adolescents reporting both intrapersonal (i.e., impulsive behaviors and depression) and interpersonal (i.e., unstable relationships and parental criticism) risk factors were significantly more likely to follow the latter three trajectories. The findings of this study suggest there is heterogeneity in NSSI development among adolescents and highlight the contributions of both intrapersonal and interpersonal risk factors in the engagement in NSSI.

Brief report: A preliminary comparison of self-compassion between adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury thoughts and actions.

Despite the public health significance of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents, little is known about the possible overlaps or differences between individuals with NSSI thoughts and those with NSSI actions. The present study compared between individuals with different NSSI status on self-compassion. With a sample of 606 Chinese adolescents (38.8% females; Mage = 13.58, SD = 1.04), we investigated differences on the six subscales of the Self-Compassion Scale (i.e., self-kindness/self-judgment, common humanity/isolation, and mindfulness/over-identification) across three groups: NSSI-action group (n = 86), NSSI-thought group (n = 98), and no-NSSI group (n = 422). Results revealed that individuals with NSSI thoughts and NSSI actions shared greater self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification than those without NSSI, but differed from each other on self-kindness and common humanity, with individuals with NSSI thoughts reporting more self-kindness and common humanity than those with NSSI actions. Further empirical investigations into the influence of self-compassion on NSSI will benefit the development of interventions for adolescent NSSI.

Peer group impulsivity moderated the individual-level relationship between depressive symptoms and adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury.

This study examined the influence of impulsive friendship group contexts on nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and how peer group impulsivity (i.e. negative urgency and premeditation) moderated the individual level relationship between depression and NSSI among 1701 Chinese secondary school students (1147 females). Participants were assessed twice over a 6-month interval. After controlling for direct socialization effects for NSSI, multilevel analysis indicated that friendship group negative urgency exerted a significant influence on NSSI. Additionally, friendship group premeditation weakened the relation between individual depression and NSSI, while friendship group negative urgency strengthened the relation between depression and NSSI. The results suggest the contribution of indirect peer influence effects to NSSI.