Potential Mechanism Linking Peer Relationships and Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: Mediation of Cognitive Empathy and Moderations of OXTR and DRD2.

Peers are important socializers of adolescent prosocial behavior. Still, the proximal cognitive and emotional process underlying this link and the sources of individual differences in sensitivity to peer influence have yet to be explored. Utilizing the gene-gene-environment (G × G × E) approach and multi-informant measurement, this study investigated how peer relationships operate to influence adolescent prosocial behavior by examining the mediating role of cognitive and emotional empathy, and the moderating role of the OXTR and DRD2 genes. The study utilized longitudinal data from a community sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1080, Mage = 13.32 years at T1). Results showed that cognitive empathy rather than emotional empathy mediated the link between peer acceptance/rejection and prosocial behavior. Furthermore, the association among peer acceptance, cognitive empathy, and prosocial behavior was moderated by OXTR and DRD2. Specifically, adolescents with the combinations of AA/AA or G/G genotypes of OXTR/DRD2 benefited more from peer acceptance compared to their counterparts carrying other combined genotypes. The findings highlight cognitive empathy as a proximal process linking peer interaction to prosocial behavior and lend support to the interaction between oxytocinergic and dopaminergic systems on environmental sensitivity.

Why Does Classroom-Level Victimization Moderate the Association Between Victimization and Depressive Symptoms? The "Healthy Context Paradox" and Two Explanations.

The present longitudinal study examined how and why classroom-level victimization moderates the prospective association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms with 2,643 third- and fourth-graders (Mage  = 10.01 years) in China. Multilevel modeling revealed that peer victimization was more strongly associated with increasing depressive symptoms in classrooms with lower classroom-level victimization. Moreover, two mechanisms were identified to explain the moderating effect of classroom-level victimization. First, low classroom-level victimization reduced victimized children's received friendship nominations from peers, thereby leading to increases in depressive affect. Second, low classroom-level victimization affected victimized children's depressive symptoms through damage to their social self-concept. These findings provide support for the "healthy context paradox" in the Chinese culture, and highlight the mechanisms of this phenomenon.

Inhibitory Control Mediates the Associations Between Parenting Practices and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Gene.

Ample evidence suggested that parental responsiveness, demandingness, and autonomy granting protect adolescents from depressive symptoms. However, what is less well understood is how parenting practices reduce the risk of depressive symptoms. This study tested the protective effects of parenting practices and inhibitory control on depressive symptoms, along with the mediating role of inhibitory control and the moderating role of the COMT gene in linking parenting practices to depressive symptoms. The study utilized cross-sectional data from a community sample of Chinese Han adolescents (N = 943, Mage = 15.25 years, SD = 0.70 years; 51.9% girls). Results showed that parental responsiveness and autonomy granting promoted higher inhibitory control, which in turn was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Further, the mediation effects were moderated by the COMT gene. For adolescents with ValVal homozygotes, both responsiveness and autonomy granting were related to higher levels of inhibitory control, which reduced risk for depressive symptoms, but the mediation effects were not observed among Met allele carriers. The mediating role of inhibitory control did not hold in the parental demandingness model. Findings support the cognitive theory that inhibitory control is a proximal factor linking parenting practices to depressive symptoms exclusively in ValVal homozygotes. These results also suggested that differentiating different dimensions of parenting practices may help to further clarify the processes by which parenting practices eventuate depressive symptoms.

Developmental changes in associations between depressive symptoms and peer relationships: a four-year follow-up of Chinese adolescents.

Interpersonal theories have suggested that depressive symptoms influence and are influenced by peer relationships, but little is known about how depressive symptoms-peer relationships associations change with age. This study examined the longitudinal associations between both group- and dyadic-level peer relationships and depressive symptoms in a community sample of Chinese youth (n = 2179; 47.9% girls) from grades 6 to 9. Results demonstrated correlations between stable trait-like components of peer acceptance/rejection and depressive symptoms, with no dynamic state-like associations being observed. The results also suggested that conflict with friends operated as a consistent interpersonal risk for subsequent depressive symptoms across late childhood to middle adolescence. Support from friends was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms in early adolescence, but influenced and was influenced by depressive symptoms in middle adolescence. This study highlights that depressive symptoms are associated with youth's peer social status and friendship in different ways and that the interactions between friendship and depressive symptoms get strengthened with the transition to adolescence.

Classroom Status Hierarchy Moderates the Association between Social Dominance Goals and Bullying Behavior in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence.

Social dominance goals represent desires to be powerful and prominent among peers. Previous studies have documented that endorsing social dominance goals is positively associated with bullying behavior. However, little is known about how classroom context moderates the social dominance goals-bullying association. The present study examined the role of classroom status hierarchy in the longitudinal association between social dominance goals and bullying in a sample of 1,603 children attending 17 grade 3 classrooms (n = 558, 46.2% girls, Mage = 9.33 years, SD = 0.44), 15 grade 4 classrooms (n = 491, 45.0% girls, Mage = 10.31 years, SD = 0.38) and 16 grade 7 classrooms (n = 554, 49.3% girls, Mage = 13.2 years, SD = 0.46) in China, followed for 1 year. Classroom peer status hierarchy was assessed by the within-classroom standard deviation in perceived popularity. Social dominance goals were obtained through self-reports. Bullying was measured via peer nomination. The multilevel models revealed that social dominance goals at Wave 1 predicted increases in bullying at Wave 2 only in classrooms with higher status hierarchies, after controlling for gender, grade, classroom size, and classroom gender distribution. These findings indicate that children who strive for social dominance goals are more likely to bully others when power is less equally distributed in the classroom.

Developmental changes in longitudinal associations between academic achievement and psychopathological symptoms from late childhood to middle adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Research reveals longitudinal bidirectional associations between changes in academic achievement and psychopathological symptoms. However, little is known about developmental changes in the magnitude of these associations, from childhood to adolescence. METHODS: Participants were 648 Chinese children (347 males) who were followed from Grade 5 (mean age: 11.18 years) to Grade 9. Academic achievement and two types of symptoms (externalizing, depressive) were assessed annually. Structural equation modeling was used to examine longitudinal bidirectional associations between achievement and psychopathological symptoms, and developmental changes in effect sizes. Models were estimated using cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM), as well as random intercepts cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM). RESULTS: The data supported the hypothesized academic incompetence and adjustment erosion effects, as well as the hypothesized developmental change in the academic incompetence effect whereby prior achievement's effects on subsequent externalizing increased with age. Results were similar for both genders and unaffected by inclusion of common risk factors as covariates. CONCLUSIONS: There are bidirectional associations between symptoms and achievement that change markedly across the transition into adolescence. Interpreting the effects using a developmental perspective, changes in reciprocal effects may be dynamic. The findings suggest that targeting both psychopathology and low academic achievement is worthwhile, but that distinct treatment effects will be found in childhood versus adolescence.

Developmental Trajectories of Chinese Adolescents' Relational Aggression: Associations With Changes in Social-Psychological Adjustment.

This study investigated the development of relational aggression (RA) in a sample of Chinese youth (N = 2,274, 52% boys) from fourth (Mage  = 10.27 years) to ninth grade. Using latent class growth analysis, four trajectories were identified for both peer- and teacher-rated RA: a no aggression trajectory, a low-increasing trajectory, a moderate-decreasing trajectory, and a chronically high trajectory. Chronically high RA showed a chronicity effect on adolescent peer acceptance, rejection, and rule-breaking behaviors. Adolescents showed worse adjustment as RA increased, but they did not necessarily evidence significant improvement in adjustment even if their RA decreased. Findings reveal the maladaptive nature of RA and highlight the importance of considering cultural context in understanding RA.

The Catechol-O-Methyltransferase and Dopamine Transporter Genes Moderated the Impact of Peer Relationships on Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: A Gene-Gene-Environment Study.

Behavioral genetics studies and new empirical evidence suggest that depression cannot simply be explained by the influence of single genes but that gene-gene-environment interactions are important to better understanding the etiology of depression. The present study investigated the main and interactive effects of COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism, DAT1 gene rs27072 polymorphism, and peer relationships (i.e., peer acceptance and rejection) on adolescent depressive symptoms. In a sample of 1045 Chinese Han adolescents (Mage = 12.34 ± 0.47 years, 50.1% girls), saliva samples, self-reported depressive symptoms and within-classroom peer nominations were collected. After controlling for gender, age, and SES, the three-way interaction of COMT, DAT1, and peer acceptance significantly concurrently predicted adolescent depressive symptoms. Adolescents with ValVal genotype of COMT and CC genotype of DAT1 were more sensitive to acceptance, compared to their counterparts carrying other combined genotypes. However, a similar three-way interaction was not significant in the case of peer rejection. Additionally, the split-half validation generally replicated these findings. More importantly, this study underscores complex polygenic underpinnings of depression and lends support for the gene-gene-environment interactions implicated in the etiology of depressive symptoms.

Reconsidering Parenting in Chinese Culture: Subtypes, Stability, and Change of Maternal Parenting Style During Early Adolescence.

Parenting in Chinese culture has been a central topic and there have been debate on whether western-derived parenting style is applicable to Chinese cultures in terms of both behavioral profiles and their relationships with child and adolescent adjustment. This study identified the subtypes of Chinese maternal parenting style and examined their stability and changes over the transition to early adolescence. In an urban Chinese sample (N = 2173, 48% girls), four waves of longitudinal data were collected when the adolescents were in the fifth (M = 11.27 years), sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Latent profile analysis identified four subtypes of parenting style: authoritative, authoritarian, average-level undifferentiated, and strict-affectionate. Adolescents of authoritative mothers exhibited the best overall adjustment, while adolescents of authoritarian mothers showed the worst adjustment. Adolescents of strict-affectionate mothers generally adjusted as well as those of authoritative mothers, except they showed lower academic achievement. The strict-affectionate parenting represented a culture-specific subtype of parenting style in Chinese culture. Latent transition analysis revealed high stability of parenting styles during early adolescence, but transitions between subtypes were also evident. These findings highlight the importance of revisiting Chinese parenting and examining the developmental course of parenting style.

Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) and Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Gene Polymorphisms Interact with Maternal Parenting in Association with Adolescent Reactive Aggression but not Proactive Aggression: Evidence of Differential Susceptibility.

To date, whether and how gene-environment (G × E) interactions operate differently across distinct subtypes of aggression remains untested. More recently, in contrast with the diathesis-stress hypothesis, an alternative hypothesis of differential susceptibility proposes that individuals could be differentially susceptible to environments depending on their genotypes in a "for better and for worse" manner. The current study examined interactions between monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) T941G and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphisms with maternal parenting on two types of aggression: reactive and proactive. Moreover, whether these potential G × E interactions would be consistent with the diathesis-stress versus the differential susceptibility hypothesis was tested. Within the sample of 1399 Chinese Han adolescents (47.2 % girls, M age = 12.32 years, SD = 0.50), MAOA and COMT genes both interacted with positive parenting in their associations with reactive but not proactive aggression. Adolescents with T alleles/TT homozygotes of MAOA gene or Met alleles of COMT gene exhibited more reactive aggression when exposed to low positive parenting, but less reactive aggression when exposed to high positive parenting. These findings provide the first evidence for distinct G × E interaction effects on reactive versus proactive aggression and lend further support for the differential susceptibility hypothesis.

The Dopamine D2 Receptor Polymorphism (DRD2 TaqIA) Interacts with Maternal Parenting in Predicting Early Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: Evidence of Differential Susceptibility and Age Differences.

Most gene-environment interaction research on depression has largely focused on negative environment and to a lesser extent on positive environment. Moreover, to date few studies have directly examined G × E at different periods in development, particularly during early adolescence. The present study addressed these issues by examining the concurrent and prospective longitudinal effects of maternal parenting, DRD2 TaqIA polymorphism, and their interaction on adolescent depressive symptoms in a sample of 1026 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 11.33 ± 0.47 years at T1, 50.3% girls) in a three-wave longitudinal study from age 11 to 13. Results indicated that maternal positive and negative parenting significantly concurrently predicted adolescent depressive symptoms at all three waves, whereas TaqIA polymorphism had no main effect on depressive symptoms. TaqIA polymorphism interacted with negative parenting in predicting concurrent depressive symptoms at age 11 and 12. A1 carriers were more susceptible to negative parenting compared to A2A2 homozygotes, such that adolescents carrying A1 alleles experiencing high negative parenting reported more depressive symptoms but fared better when experiencing low negative parenting. However, the interaction became nonsignificant at age 13, indicating the interaction of TaqIA polymorphism and maternal parenting may vary with development. Also, there was no G × E effect on longitudinal change in depression. The findings provided evidence in support of the differential susceptibility hypothesis and shed light on the potential for dynamic change in gene-environment interactions over development.

Effect of subjective economic status on psychological distress among farmers and non-farmers of rural China.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the prevalence of psychological distress between farmers and non-farmers of rural China. Further, this examines the effect of subjective economic status on psychological distress and whether this effect varies between farmers and non-farmers. DESIGN: The study design is a cross-sectional survey. SETTING: The study was conducted in 27 villages of Dongying City in Shandong Province. PARTICIPANTS: Rural employed people included 1433 farmers and 584 non-farmers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress was assessed by the Kessler 10 questionnaire, and subjective economic status was assessed by a single question. RESULTS: Overall, the farmers did not report significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than non-farmers (31.13% versus 30.01%). However, the farmers aged 51-70 years did report significantly higher psychological distress than their non-farmer counterparts (33.4% versus 24.2%, P = 0.04). Second, subjective economic status had a significant (ß = -0.28, P < 0.001) effect on psychological distress. Finally, subjective economic status exerted a stronger effect on psychological distress among farmers (ß = 0.30, P < 0.001) than among non-farmers (ß = 0.20, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The farmers had a comparable prevalence of psychological distress when compared with non-farmers in rural China. Subjective economic status exerted a significant effect on the psychological distress of rural employed people, and this effect was stronger for the farmers than for the non-farmers.

Parenting behaviors, inhibitory control, and aggression: Moderation by serotonin receptor 2A haplotypes.

Despite the well-established relationship between parenting and child aggression, the mechanisms by which children incur this risk and whether genetic sources contribute to the heterogeneity in their vulnerability are not entirely clear. This study utilized a longitudinal sample of adolescents (n = 1,047, 50.2% females, Mage = 13.32 ± 0.48 years at Time 1) to examine the effects of positive and negative parenting on aggression, as mediated by inhibitory control and moderated by the serotonin receptor 2A (5-HTR2A) haplotype. Mediation analysis revealed that inhibitory control indirectly mediated the link between both positive and negative parenting and overt aggression but not relational aggression. Further, the indirect effect of negative parenting on overt aggression via inhibitory control was moderated by the 5-HTR2A haplotype. Compared to adolescents carrying zero copies of Thymine-Thymine haplotype, those with one copy of Thymine-Thymine haplotype had better inhibitory control when experiencing less negative parenting, which buffers the risk for overt aggression. However, the mediating role of inhibitory control did not hold in the positive parenting model. These findings elucidate the manner by which adolescents with different genetic predispositions develop aggressive behaviors in the context of family and suggest different etiology of overt and relational aggression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of social support, lifestyle and functional disability on psychological distress in rural China: structural equation modelling.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of psychological distress in rural China and examine the associated influence of social support, lifestyle and functional disability. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey with two-stage stratified random sampling. SETTING: Twenty-seven villages in Dongying City of Shandong Province. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2541 rural residents aged 15-91 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress was assessed by the Kessler 10, social support was assessed by the Social Support Rating Scale and lifestyle and functional disability was assessed with self-developed questionnaires. RESULTS: Of the rural residents assessed, 32.9% had K10 scores of 16 or greater. Women scored significantly higher than men did on the K10 (t ((2539)) = 7.23, P < 0.001). Functional disability was found to have a direct positive effect on psychological distress. Lifestyle had a direct negative effect on psychological distress and an indirect negative effect on psychological distress by reducing functional disability. Social support had an indirect negative effect on psychological distress by reducing functional disability and enhancing healthy lifestyles. CONCLUSIONS: A third of the rural population in China reported psychological distress, with the highest prevalence observed in women. Functional disability had a significant direct effect, social support had significant indirect effects and lifestyle had both significant direct and indirect effects on psychological distress.

Inhibitory control mediates the interaction between serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and peer victimization on adolescent depressive symptoms.

Many efforts have been devoted to investigating the effect of the interaction between the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and environment (G × E) on depression, but they yield mixed results. The inconsistency has suggested that G × E effects may be more complex than originally conceptualized, and further study is warranted. This study explored the association among 5-HTTLPR, peer victimization and depressive symptoms and the underlying mediating role of inhibitory control in this association. A total of 871 Chinese Han adolescents (Mage = 15.32 years, 50.3% girls) participated and provided saliva samples from which the 5-HTTLPR was genotyped. This study found that 5-HTTLPR interacted with peer victimization in predicting depressive symptoms. Adolescents carrying L allele reported more depressive symptoms than SS carriers when exposed to higher level of peer victimization. Furthermore, adolescents' inhibitory control deficits mediated the association between 5-HTTLPR × peer victimization and depressive symptoms. These findings suggested that one pathway in which G × E may confer vulnerability to depressive symptoms is through disruptions to adolescents' inhibitory control system.

Bidirectional Associations between Peer Relations and Attention Problems from 9 to 16 Years.

We examined the bidirectional relations between peer relations and attention problems from middle childhood through adolescence. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Chinese Children and Adolescents (LSCCA, N = 2157, 51.9% male), three key aspects of peer relations (acceptance, rejection, and victimization) were assessed annually from 9 to 16 years of age. Attention problems were assessed at 9 and 15 years. Latent growth modeling indicated that greater attention problems at age 9 were linked with a lower intercept for peer acceptance, and higher intercepts for rejection and victimization. Also, prior lower acceptance and greater rejection and victimization, along with a higher increase over time in rejection and lower decrease over time in victimization, predicted attention problems at age 15. Cross-lagged analysis showed that attention problems were associated with less subsequent peer acceptance and greater subsequent rejection and victimization. Only peer rejection (but neither victimization nor acceptance) predicted more subsequent attention problems. Findings point to bidirectional associations between attention problems and peer relations in the developmental transition across adolescence. Evidence for differential bidirectionality of attention problems with the multiple peer experience (group versus dyadic; good versus bad) emerged, and future replications are needed.

Associations Between Dopamine D2 Receptor (DRD2) Gene, Maternal Positive Parenting and Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Early to Mid-Adolescence.

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Chinese Children and Adolescents (LSCCA), this study is the first to examine the roles of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene polymorphisms (i.e., TaqIA and A241G) and maternal positive parenting at ages 10 and 11 years in the trajectories of depressive symptoms from early to mid-adolescence (ages 11 to 16 years). In a sample of 1090 Chinese adolescents (50% girls), three trajectories of depressive symptoms were identified: (i) low-stable (36.1%), (ii) moderate-increasing (44.5%), and (iii) high-increasing (19.4%). A241G AA homozygotes and youth exposed to lower levels of maternal positive parenting were both at increased odds to follow the high-increasing vs. low-stable trajectory. Moreover, the A241G polymorphism interacted with maternal positive parenting to distinguish the moderate-increasing trajectory from the high-increasing and the low-stable trajectories. For A241G G-allele carriers, but not AA homozygotes, exposure to high quality of maternal parenting decreased the odds to follow the high-increasing vs. moderate-increasing trajectory of depressive symptoms. For AA homozygotes, but not G-allele carriers, high quality of maternal parenting increased the odds to follow the low-stable vs. moderate-increasing trajectory. The DRD2 TaqIA polymorphism had neither a direct nor an interactive effect with maternal positive parenting on trajectory membership. The current findings highlight the importance of investigating gene-by-environment interactions (G × E) in trajectories of depressive symptoms over adolescence, and support a developmental versus static nature of G × E effects.

Development of a self-administered questionnaire to assess the psychological competencies for surviving a disaster.

OBJECTIVE: To find the psychological competencies for surviving a disaster and develop a self-report questionnaire to assess them. METHODS: Interviews with 16 earthquake survivors and 16 fire fighters followed by qualitative analysis were used to find psychological competencies. Formation of the item pool, a pilot study among 20 college teachers and students, a series of principal component analyses for the data from 345 college students, and a confirmatory factor analysis for the data from 307 participants with various occupations were used to develop the Psychological Competencies for Surviving a Disaster Questionnaire (PCSDQ). RESULTS: We found 4 psychological competencies: risk perception of a disaster, disaster knowledge and self-relief skills, low fear in a disaster, and sense of control over a disaster. The 24-item PCSDQ assessed these psychological competencies. The Cronbach alpha of PCSDQ subscales ranged from .75 to .87. CONCLUSIONS: The psychological competencies for surviving a disaster were found to be risk perception of a disaster, disaster knowledge and self-relief skills, low fear in a disaster, and sense of control over a disaster. Using the PCSDQ to assess a person's psychological competencies for disaster survival will make it possible to provide that person with an individualized and targeted disaster self-relief education and/or training program.

Mediating effect of social support on the association between functional disability and psychological distress in older adults in rural China: does age make a difference?

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of psychological distress among elderly people in rural China. Moreover, the mediating effect of social support on the association between functional disability and psychological distress and whether this effect varies with age would be examined. A total of 741 elderly people aged 60-89 years from a rural area of Shandong Province, China participated in a cross-sectional survey. Their psychological distress, perceived social support, enacted social support, and functional disability were assessed through questionnaires. A total of 217 (29.3%) rural elderly people had psychological distress. The functional disability of people ≥75 years old had smaller total effects (0.18) on their psychological distress than in people <75 years old (0.30). Moreover, most of the effects of functional disability on psychological distress among the people ≥75 years old were indirect (0.12; 66.67% of total effects) through the mediating effect of social support especially perceived support, while the direct effect of functional disability was insignificant. In contrast, most of the effects of functional disability on psychological distress among the people <75 years old were direct (0.29; 96.67% of total effects), while the mediating effect of social support was insignificant. In conclusion, the total effect of functional disability, especially the direct effect, on psychological distress decreases sharply with age. The mediating effect of social support on the association between functional disability and psychological distress varies with age and is only found in people ≥75 years.