The Vicious Cycle between Loneliness and Problematic Smartphone Use among Adolescents: A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model.

Despite extensive research on the psychological impacts of digital technology, the nuanced dynamics between adolescent loneliness and problematic smartphone use, particularly across different educational levels and genders, remain underexplored. This study aims to fill this gap by employing a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model to dissect the bidirectional relationship between loneliness and problematic smartphone use among adolescents, with a focus on the moderating roles of educational levels and gender. Engaging 3132 students from various educational institutions in China, the research conducted a three-wave longitudinal analysis across 2022-2023. The final number of participants included 1120 adolescents (53.5% female; age in 2022: M = 14.57 years, SD = 1.57). Results reveal that loneliness significantly predicts problematic smartphone use, but not vice versa, highlighting a unidirectional influence. The study uncovers crucial differences across educational levels and gender, emphasizing the stronger effect of loneliness on problematic smartphone use among junior high students and female adolescents. These findings underscore the complexity of adolescent loneliness and its relationship with digital behavior, suggesting a need for tailored interventions considering both gender and developmental stages.

School climate and school identification as determinants of smoking conventional cigarettes or vaping among adolescents in China: Stress-coping mediation mechanisms.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking conventional cigarettes or vaping (SV) poses significant health threats to adolescents. School climate and school identification are key elements of the school environment and potential factors of SV. Based on the Stress Coping Theory, the mediations between school climate/school identification and SV, via perceived stress/active coping, were examined. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among secondary school students from February to March 2022 in Taizhou, China. Structural equation modeling was used. RESULTS: The prevalence of SV among the 7526 participants was 4.7% (singular use of conventional cigarettes: 3.2%; singular use of electronic cigarettes: 3.6%; dual use: 2.1%). School climate, school identification, and active coping were positively, and perceived stress (family stress, academic stress, and peer-related stress) were negatively associated with SV. The association between school climate and SV was fully mediated via: 1) school climate → perceived stress → SV; 2) school climate → active coping → SV; and 3) school climate → perceived stress → active coping → SV. The effect sizes were 52.1%, 43.8%, and 6.3%, respectively. Similar partial mediation mechanisms were found between school identification and SV, with relatively small effect sizes (<10%). CONCLUSIONS: This study observed the prevalence of SV among Chinese secondary school students. School climate and school identification had both significant direct and indirect (via perceived stress/active coping) effects on SV. Positive school environments may reduce students' stress and promote active coping. The stress coping mechanisms explained the association between school climate and SV better than between school identification and SV.

Psychometric Properties of the Abbreviated Version of the Dual School Climate and School Identification Measure-Student (SCASIM-St15) among Adolescents in China.

School climate and school identification are two distinct yet closely interrelated components of school environment; both are associated with adolescents' multiple health behavioral changes. The 15-item Abbreviated version of the Dual School Climate and School Identification Measure-Student (SCASIM-St15) and its 5-factor model simultaneously and separately assess these two constructs. This study validated the Chinese version of SCASIM-St15 among 1108 students from junior middle schools, senior middle schools, and vocational high schools in Taizhou city, Zhejiang, China, via an anonymous, self-administered cross-sectional survey. Confirmatory factor analysis supports the 5-factor model of the original SCASIM-St15 with a satisfactory model fit. Its four factors (i.e., student-student relations, staff-student relations, academic emphasis, and shared values and approach) assess school climate; its fifth factor assesses school identification. The subscales of the SCASIM-St15 demonstrate good psychometric properties, including measurement invariance (across sex and school type), good internal consistency, an absence of floor effect, and good external validity with four external variables (depression, peer victimization, classmate support, and teacher-student relationship). However, some substantial ceiling effects were observed. The five subscales differ significantly across the school types but not between males and females. The validated SCASIM-St15 can be applied to simultaneously understand school climate/school identification among Chinese adolescents, which may greatly facilitate future related observational and intervention research.