Gender differences in mathematics anxiety: A meta-analysis of Chinese children.

Mathematics anxiety (MA) is a widespread phenomenon that affects an individual's learning of mathematics. MA between different genders has been of great interest to researchers. Meta-analysis was used to examine the relationship between MA and gender in Chinese children, along with the influencing factors. After literature search and screening, 83 papers and 91 independent samples met the inclusion criteria. The results of the main effect test of the random effect model revealed a correlation of significant levels between MA and gender, r = -0.131, 95%CI [-0.158, -0.105], Z = -9.508, and p < 0.001. Girls had higher MA than boys. The outcomes of the moderating effect test indicated that the moderating effect of age, economic region and measurement instrument in the relationship between MA and gender was significant. But the moderating effect of period was not significant. Specifically, gender differences in MA were greater at the middle school compared to the elementary school. And the greatest correlation between children's MA and gender was in the western region. The gender difference of MA measured by different instruments varied.

The Links Among Cumulative Ecological Risk and Smartphone Addiction, Sleep Quality in Chinese University Freshmen: A Two-Wave Study.

Purpose: While previous research has highlighted the influence of family, school, and peer factors on smartphone addiction and sleep quality, the cumulative effects of these risk factors and their underlying causal relationships remain poorly understood. Therefore, based on the cumulative risk model and the bioecological model of human development, this study examined the longitudinal associations between cumulative ecological risk and smartphone addiction and sleep quality. Methods: A survey was conducted among 653 Chinese university freshmen (mean age 18.56) at two distinct time points, with a 6-month interval. The initial assessment focused on family, school, and peer risk factors, while the subsequent assessment focused on smartphone addiction and sleep quality. Results: Approximately 63.71% of university freshmen were found to be at risk of exposure. Compared to other risk-exposure groups, the group with no-risk exposure exhibited the lowest scores for smartphone addiction and sleep quality. The relationships between cumulative ecological risk and smartphone addiction and sleep quality displayed a linear pattern and a discernible "gradient effect". Smartphone addiction was identified as a fully mediating factor in the link between cumulative ecological risk and sleep quality, with a mediating effect value of 0.08 (representing 44.44% of the total effect). Conclusion: University freshmen face various risks associated with their families, schools, and peers. The cumulative ecological risk can, directly and indirectly, impact sleep quality by influencing smartphone addiction. Given the observed "gradient effect" of cumulative ecological risk on smartphone addiction and sleep quality, it is imperative to adopt comprehensive risk prevention strategies to mitigate the impact of each risk factor.

Perceived parental warmth attenuates the link between perceived parental rejection and rumination in Chinese early adolescents: two conditional moderation models.

Background: Prior studies have explored the association between perceived parental rejection-warmth and adolescents' rumination, but it is unclear whether the interaction between perceived parental rejection and warmth can predict adolescents' rumination in a Chinese context and whether this interaction varies by children's gender during the post-COVID-19 era. Objective: This study aimed to address these issues in Chinese early adolescents from a family system perspective. Methods: A total of 910 adolescents (M age = 13.63, 48.50% female) from two middle schools in Chongqing and Changsha, China participated in the survey, answering measures for demographics, perceived parental rejection-warmth, and rumination. Results: The results show that adolescents' rumination was positively related to perceived paternal rejection (r = 0.326, p <.001) and maternal rejection (r = 0.343, p <.001), and negatively related to perceived paternal warmth (r = -.184, p <.001) and maternal warmth (r = -0.125, p <.001). Moreover, perceived maternal warmth significantly moderated the link between perceived paternal rejection and adolescents' rumination (boot effect = -0.066, 95CI% = [-0.124, -0.010]), but this moderating effect is only presented in boys not in girls (boot effect = -0.063, 95CI% = [-0.015, 0.140]). However, perceived paternal warmth moderated the link between perceived maternal rejection and rumination in adolescents (boot effect = -0.052, 95CI% = [-0.103, -0.001]), and this interaction varied by adolescents' gender (boot effect = 0.103, 95CI% = [0.029, 0.177]). Conclusions: Perceived Parental rejection and parental warmth co-exist in the Chinese family system, and they exert an interactive effect on adolescents' rumination depending on their gender. It implies that both parents should be more accepting, caring, considerate, and warm toward their daughters, and it is also in line with the tradition and status quo of parenting in Chinese families. These findings have implications for Chinese parental co-parenting practices in families with adolescents and adolescence mental health counseling work.

The Relationship of Internet Gaming Addiction and Suicidal Ideation among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Negative Emotion and the Moderating Role of Hope.

Recently, internet gaming addiction and suicide have been global public health issues among adolescents. This study used convenience sampling and surveyed 1906 Chinese adolescents to investigate the relationship between internet gaming addiction and suicidal ideation and the role of negative emotion and hope in the relationship between the two. The results showed that the detection rate of internet gaming addiction among adolescents was 17.16% and the detection rate of suicidal ideation was 16.37%. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between internet gaming addiction and suicidal ideation. Negative emotion partially mediated the relationship between internet gaming addiction and suicidal ideation. In addition, hope moderated the relationship between negative emotion and suicidal ideation. The effect of negative emotion on suicidal ideation decreased as hope increased. These findings suggest that the role of emotion and hope in coping with adolescent internet gaming addiction and suicidal ideation should be emphasized.

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a source of fear worldwide and has negative mental health effects on the general population. In 2022, the epidemic continues to be characterized by many points, widespread and frequent in China, and the situation is serious and complex. To provide an effective and scientific tool, the study validated the Chinese version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-SC). METHODS: This study selected 1138 Chinese individuals (age ranged 13 to 80). RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the C19P-SC was 0.93 (the coefficients of the four dimensions ranged from 0.75 to 0.85). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure of the C19P-SC. Meanwhile, there was a positive and significant correlation between coronaphobia and state anxiety (r = 0.48, p < 0.001). The metric invariance hypothesis and the scalar invariance hypothesis were valid in the different subgroups. Significant multivariate effects of gender, education level, and identity differences on coronaphobia were found. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale has good psychometric properties and is suitable for measuring COVID-19 phobia in Chinese individuals.

The role of family functioning: How the Big Five affect metacognitions about smartphone use.

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between the Big Five and metacognitions about smartphone use and the mediating role of family functioning. A cohort of 470 Chinese college students was selected as subjects based on the second edition of the Big Five Inventory-2, the Chinese version of the Metacognitions about Smartphone Use Questionnaire, and the general functioning subscale of Family Assessment Device. The results showed that only neuroticism was significantly and positively correlated with positive metacognition, while the correlation between other personality traits and positive metacognition was not statistically significant. Except for openness, the correlation between other personality traits and negative metacognition was statistically significant. In addition, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism were found to directly affect negative metacognitions about smartphone use and indirectly affect the negative metacognitions about smartphone use through family functioning. Findings provide insights into the design of interventions aimed at improving metacognitions about smartphone use and preventing smartphone addiction among college students.

Psychometric properties of the metacognitions about smartphone use questionnaire (MSUQ) in Chinese college students.

AIMS: Over the last ten years, several studies investigating the role of metacognitions in addictive behaviors, including technological addictions, have been published. Problematic Smartphone use has been conceptualized as a behavioural addiction and a psychometrically sound self-report measure to assess metacognitions about PSU has been recently published. The objective of this study was to evaluate some psychometric properties (e.g., factor structure, reliability, and validity) of the Chinese Metacognitions about Smartphone Use Questionnaire (Chinese MSUQ). METHODS: A sample of 698 undergraduates (F = 54.70%, mean age = 19.89 ±â€¯1.38 years) were enrolled in China. An exploratory factor analysis was first performed in a randomly allocated subsample of 349 participants. A confirmatory factor analysis was then computed on a second subsample of 349 participants to test its fitting with the identified factor structure. Internal consistency and predictive validity were verified. RESULTS: The result of exploratory factor analysis showed a 2-factor structure, which consists of positive metacognitions concerning emotional and cognitive regulation and social advantages of smartphone use (MSUQ-PM) and negative metacognitions about uncontrollability and cognitive harm of smartphone use (MSUQ-NM). The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 2-factor structure of Chinese MSUQ had appropriate fit. Cronbach's Alphas ranged from 0.90 to 0.92. Additionally, regression analysis showed that MSUQ-PM and MSUQ-NM positively predicted PSU. Notably, MSUQ-NM is a stronger predictor of PSU compared with MSUQ-PM, with a rescaled importance of 86.36%. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese MSUQ has appropriate psychometric properties, suggesting it is a reliable instrument to assess metacognitions about smartphone use in the Chinese context.

Dinitrophenol-Hyaluronan Conjugates as Multivalent Antibody-Recruiting Glycopolymers for Targeted Cancer Immunotherapy.

Multivalent antibody-recruiting glycopolymers (MARGs) composed of hyaluronic acid (HA) grafted with multiple copies of dinitrophenol (DNP) were developed for targeted cancer immunotherapy. Structure-activity studies demonstrated that the MARGs were able to specifically recognize CD44-positive cancer cells and displayed remarkable antibody-recruiting capacities and tumor cell killing activities dependent on the introduced multivalent effect and the length of PEG linker. One of the MARGs, HA-[PEG3 -DNP]8 , showed the best capacity for clustering anti-DNP antibodies onto CD44-positive cancer cells and displayed potent in vitro anti-cancer activity by triggering complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Moreover, we found that HA-[PEG3 -DNP]8 significantly inhibited the xenograft tumor growth of Babl/c nude mice bearing triple negative breast cancer cells, while it did not cause detectable histological cytotoxicity. Given the easy access of this type of natural glycopolymer and the practical synthesis approach, these MARGs provide promising immunotherapeutics for cancer immunotherapy.

Dinitrophenol-mediated modulation of an anti-PD-L1 VHH for Fc-dependent effector functions and prolonged serum half-life.

Single-domain antibodies, VHHs or nanobodies, represent a promising set of alternatives to conventional therapeutic antibodies, gaining substantial attention in the field of cancer immunotherapy. However, inherent drawbacks of nanobodies such as fast clearance from blood circulation and lack of immune effector functions often led to unsatisfactory therapeutic efficacy. We previously reported that dinitrophenyl modification of an anti-EGFR VHH conferred Fc-dependent immune effector functions and elongated serum half-life on it through recruiting of hapten antibodies, resulting in improved immunotherapy efficacy in vivo. In the present work, we further tested the versatility of this approach in the case of an anti-PD-L1 blockade VHH (KN035). Site-specific dinitrophenyl conjugation did not impair the binding capacity of KN035 portion to PD-L1, but indirectly restored its immune effector functions, manifested by the observed antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis and complement-dependent cytotoxicity against PD-L1 positive tumor cells. Significant delay of blood clearance of dinitrophenylated KN035 was evidenced by the prolonged half-life of ca. 22 h. This approach, using small hapten molecule conjugation, loaded additional antibody-mediated tumor killing mechanisms to PD-L1 blockade VHH and therefore improved efficacy is anticipated in the future in vivo therapeutic studies. Thus, our results underscore the power of this versatile approach for achieving desirable properties of VHH-based or similar therapeutics.

Exendin 4-Hapten Conjugate Capable of Binding with Endogenous Antibodies for Peptide Half-life Extension and Exerting Long-Acting Hypoglycemic Activity.

Hapten-specific endogenous antibodies are naturally occurring antibodies present in human blood. Herein, we investigated a new strategy in which small-molecule haptens were utilized as naturally occurring antibody binders for peptide half-life extension. The glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist exendin 4 was site-specifically functionalized with the dinitrophenyl (DNP) hapten at the C-terminus via sortase A-mediated ligation. The resulting Ex4-DNP conjugates retained GLP-1 receptor activation potency in vitro and had a similar in vivo acute glucose-lowering effect comparable to that of native Ex4. Pharmacokinetic studies and hypoglycemic duration tests demonstrated that the Ex4-DNP conjugates displayed significantly elongated half-lives and improved long-acting antidiabetic activity in the presence of endogenous anti-DNP antibodies. In chronic treatment studies, once-daily administration of optimal conjugate 7 demonstrated more beneficial effects without prominent toxicity compared with Ex4. This strategy provides a new approach and represents an alternative to the well-established peptide-Fc fusion strategy to improve the peptide half-life and the therapeutic efficacy.

The Effects of Working Memory and Probability Format on Bayesian Reasoning.

Bayesian reasoning is common and critical in everyday life while the performance on Bayesian reasoning is rather poor. Previous studies showed that people could enhance their performance by applying cognitive resources under the natural frequency format condition. Working memory is one of the crucial cognitive resources in the reasoning process. However, the role of working memory on Bayesian reasoning remains unclear. In our study, we verified the effect of working memory on Bayesian reasoning by evaluating the performance of participants with high and low working memory span (WMS); we also investigated if working memory as a kind of cognitive resource can affect Bayesian reasoning performance by manipulating the cognitive load in a dual-task paradigm among participants with no-, low-, and high-loads. We found the following: (1) The Bayesian reasoning performance of high WMS participants was significantly higher than that of low WMS participants. (2) Performance under natural frequency condition was noticeably higher than that in standard probability condition. (3) Interaction between working memory and probability format was significant, and the performance of participants with high-load in natural frequency condition was higher when compared to those of participants with no- and low-load. Therefore, we can conclude that: (1) Working memory resource is a major factor in Bayesian reasoning. The performance of Bayesian reasoning is influenced by working memory span and working memory load. (2) A Bayesian facilitation effect exists, and replacing the standard probability format with a natural frequency format can significantly improve Bayesian performance. (3) Bayesian facilitation occurs only in participants with sufficient working memory resources.