Longitudinal associations between cyber victimization and problematic mobile phone use in adolescents: Disentangling between-person effects from within-person effects.

BACKGROUND: Being the target of cyber victimization has been shown to be connected with several forms of maladjustment among adolescents. However, there is not a clear understanding of the impact of cyber victimization on Problematic Mobile Phone Use (PMPU) and the potential mechanism underlying the association. The present study tested the longitudinal association between cyber victimization and adolescents' PMPU as well as the mediating role of sleep problems in this association. METHODS: A sample of 1835 Chinese adolescents (55.9 % boys; Mage = 12.34) completed self-report questionnaires regarding cyber victimization, sleep problems and PMPU at four time points, using 6-month intervals. Gender, age and socioeconomic status were controlled for in the analyses. We tested cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) and random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) to separate between- and within-person effects, allowing a robust and rigorous test of relationships among variables. RESULTS: As hypothesized, at the within-person level, cyber victimization was a predictive risk factor of later PMPU among adolescents, and sleep problems served as an explanatory mechanism by which cyber victimization predicted adolescents' PMPU over time. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to identifying adolescents at risk for engaging in PMPU, as well as the prevention and intervention.

Online violent video games and online aggressive behavior among Chinese college students: The role of anger rumination and self-control.

Online aggressive behavior (OAB) has received increasing attention in recent years, and that playing online violent video games (OVVG) is an important predictor of OAB. However, little is known of the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. This study aims to investigate (a) the mediating role of anger rumination in the association between OVVG and OAB and (b) the moderating role of self-control in the relationship between anger rumination and OAB. A total of 595 Chinese college students (M age = 19.59 years, SD age = 1.40) completed measurements regarding OVVG, anger rumination, self-control, and OAB. The correlation analyses showed that OVVG was significantly positively associated with anger rumination and OAB. Mediation analyses revealed anger rumination partially mediated the link between OVVG and OAB. Moderated mediation further indicated that anger rumination was not associated with OAB for individuals with high levels of self-control. However, for those with low levels of self-control, anger rumination was significantly associated with OAB. These findings suggest that the improvement of self-control and the decline of anger rumination could be a practicable way to address the issue of OAB effectively.

School Connectedness and Chinese Adolescents' Sleep Problems: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although previous research indicates an association between school connectedness and adolescents' sleep quality, its causal direction has not been determined. This study used a 2-wave cross-lagged panel analysis to explore the likely causal direction between these 2 constructs. METHODS: Participants were 888 Chinese adolescents (43.80% boys; Mage = 15.55) who provided self-report data on school connectedness and sleep quality as well as demographic variables at the beginning and the end of a school year. RESULTS: After controlling for sex and age, we found that sleep problems at the beginning of the school year were a significant and negative predictor of school connectedness at the end of the school year (b2 = -.26, SE = .13, ß2 = -.10, p < .05), but school connectedness at the beginning of the school year did not predict sleep problems at the end of the school year (b1 = .05, SE = .03, ß1 = .09, p > .05). Separate analyses by sex showed that the above pattern of results was mainly driven by the boys. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated that sleep problems could be a risk factor for adolescent boys' school connectedness.

Deviant Peer Affiliation as an Explanatory Mechanism in the Association between Corporal Punishment and Physical Aggression: a Longitudinal Study among Chinese Adolescents.

Previous research has focused primarily on corporal punishment as a cause and adolescents' physical aggression as an outcome. However, there is a large gap in knowledge of the potentially bidirectional association and explanatory mechanism underlying the association between corporal punishment and physical aggression. The current study, using a longitudinal design across three time points (the fall semester of 7th grade, the fall of 8th grade, and the fall of 9th grade), aimed to a) examine the reciprocal processes between corporal punishment and physical aggression, and b) explore whether deviant peer affiliation may explain such reciprocal connections. Only adolescents participating in all the three time points were included in this study, resulting in a final sample of 342 adolescents (175 boys, 167 girls) who completed questionnaires regarding corporal punishment, deviant peer affiliation, and aggression. Gender, age and socioeconomic status were controlled for in the analyses. Autoregressive cross-lagged models showed that the results did not support the direct reciprocal effect between corporal punishment and physical aggression among Chinese adolescents. A direct longitudinal link from corporal punishment to physical aggression was found, however, the inverse association was not significant. Moreover, regarding the longitudinal underlying process, in one direction, corporal punishment at 7th grade predicted higher levels of deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade. In turn, higher deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade predicted increased physical aggression at 9th grade. At the same time, in the other direction, adolescent physical aggression at 7th grade significantly predicted deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade. In turn, higher deviant peer affiliation at 8th grade predicted decreased corporal punishment at 9th grade. Identifying the direct and underlying reciprocal processes between corporal punishment and adolescent physical aggression has important implications for an integrative framework of theory and prevention.

Peer victimization, deviant peer affiliation and impulsivity: Predicting adolescent problem behaviors.

Abundant evidence has demonstrated an association between peer victimization and adolescent problem behaviors. However, there is a large gap in knowledge about the potential mediators that associate peer victimization with problem behaviors and the potential moderators that exacerbate or buffer this association. The current study examined whether deviant peer affiliation mediated the association between peer victimization and problem behaviors and whether the direct and indirect associations were moderated by impulsivity. A sample of 1401 adolescents (50.1% boys, 11-14 years old) completed anonymous questionnaires regarding peer victimization, impulsivity, deviant peer affiliation, and problem behaviors. Gender, age and socioeconomic status (SES) were controlled for in the analyses. Structural equation models showed that peer victimization was significantly associated with more problem behaviors, and this association was mediated by deviant peer affiliation. Impulsivity moderated both the direct association (peer victimization→problem behaviors) and the second stage of the indirect path (deviant peer affiliation→problem behaviors). Specifically, these associations were especially stronger for adolescents with higher impulsivity. Identifying the processes by which peer victimization is associated with adolescent problem behaviors has important implications for an integrative framework of theory and prevention.

Family economic hardship and Chinese adolescents' sleep quality: A moderated mediation model involving perceived economic discrimination and coping strategy.

The association between family economic hardship and adolescent adjustment outcomes, including sleep quality, is well-established. Few studies, however, have examined the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying the relation between family economic hardship and adolescents' sleep quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of family economic hardship on Chinese adolescents' sleep quality, as well as the role of perceived economic discrimination as a mediator and the role of coping strategy as a moderator. Survey data from a cross-sectional sample of 997 Chinese adolescents (45% male, mean age = 15.04 years) were analyzed using path analysis in Mplus 7.0. The results of this study indicated that family economic hardship was significantly associated with adolescents' sleep quality. This association was mediated by adolescents' perceived economic discrimination. In addition, adolescents' coping strategy significantly moderated the path from perceived economic discrimination to sleep quality, with the "shift" coping strategy as a protective factor. The present study contributes to our understanding of key mechanisms underlying the association between family economic hardship and adolescent sleep quality and highlights the importance of improving sleep quality for adolescents exposed to economic hardship.

Perceived School Climate and Chinese Adolescents' Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts: The Mediating Role of Sleep Quality.

BACKGROUND: School factors play important roles in adolescent suicide. However, little is known about how school climate is associated with adolescent suicide. This study examined the relationship between perceived school climate and adolescent suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, and whether these relations were explained by adolescent sleep quality. METHODS: A total of 1529 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 14.74 years; 52% boys) participated in the study. They provided self-report data on control variables, perceived school climate, sleep quality, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. RESULTS: After controlling for sex, age, family structure, socioeconomic status, and parent-adolescent attachment, we found that perceived school climate negatively predicted adolescent suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR] = 0.66, p < .001) and suicide attempts (OR = 0.72, p < .001). Moreover, perceived school climate positively predicated adolescent sleep quality (ß = 0.13, p < .001), which in turn, negatively predicted adolescent suicidal ideation (OR = 0.75, p < .001) and suicide attempts (OR = 0.76, p < .001). CONCLUSION: These findings, although cross-sectional, indicate that perceived school climate plays an important role in adolescent suicidality. Moreover, the relation between perceived school climate and adolescent suicidality was largely mediated by adolescent sleep quality.

Parental attachment and Chinese adolescents' delinquency: The mediating role of moral disengagement.

There is substantial literature documenting the negative association between secure parental attachment and lower adolescent delinquency, but little is known about the mediating mechanisms (i.e., how does parental attachment relate to delinquency?) underlying this relation. The present study examined whether secure parental attachment would be indirectly related to lower adolescent delinquency through lower adolescent moral disengagement. A total of 1766 adolescents (44% male; mean age = 14.25 years, SD = 1.54) living in an urban area of southern China completed anonymous questionnaires regarding parental attachment, moral disengagement and delinquency. After controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, and school variable, it was found that secure parental attachment was negatively associated with adolescent delinquency and this negative association was fully mediated by the extent of adolescent moral disengagement. These findings contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of adolescent delinquency and have important implications for intervention.

Family material hardship and chinese adolescents' problem behaviors: a moderated mediation analysis.

In the current study, we examined a moderated mediation model using the risk and resilience framework. Specifically, the impact of family material hardship on adolescent problem behaviors was examined in a Chinese sample; we used the family stress model framework to investigate parental depression and negative parenting as potential mediators of the relation between family material hardship and adolescents' problem behaviors. In addition, based on resilience theory, we investigated adolescents' resilience as a potential protective factor in the development of their internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants included 1,419 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.38 years, SD = 1.79) and their primary caregivers. After controlling for covariates (age, gender, location of family residence, and primary caregiver), we found that parental depression and negative parenting mediated the association between family material hardship and adolescents' problem behaviors. Furthermore, the adolescent resilience moderated the relationship between negative parenting and internalizing problems in a protective-stabilizing pattern; in addition, a protective-reactive pattern also emerged when adolescent resilience was examined as a moderator of the relationship between negative parenting and externalizing problems. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of risk and resilience in youth development. Moreover, the findings have important implications for the prevention of adolescent problem behaviors.

School climate and delinquency among Chinese adolescents: analyses of effortful control as a moderator and deviant peer affiliation as a mediator.

School climate is the quality and character of school life and reflects the norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and the organizational structure of a school. There is substantial literature documenting the negative association between positive school climate and adolescent delinquency, but little is known about the moderating and mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship. The aim of this study was to examine whether the direct and indirect pathways between school climate and adolescent delinquency would be moderated by effortful control. A sample of 2,758 Chinese adolescents (M age = 13.53 years, SD = 1.06) from 10 middle schools completed anonymous questionnaires regarding school climate, effortful control, deviant peer affiliation, and delinquency. After gender, age, geographical area, and socioeconomic status were included as covariates, the results revealed that school climate was significantly associated with adolescent delinquent behavior. This direct association was moderated by effortful control, such that the negative relationship between positive school climate and delinquency was only significant among adolescents low in effortful control. Moreover, the indirect association between school climate and delinquency via deviant peer affiliation was also moderated by effortful control. Specifically, the moderating effect of effortful control was not only manifested in the relationship between school climate and deviant peer affiliation, but also in the relationship between deviant peer affiliation and delinquency. These findings contribute to understanding the mechanisms through which positive school climate might reduce delinquent behavior and have important implications for prevention efforts aimed at diminishing adolescent delinquency.

School connectedness and problematic internet use in adolescents: a moderated mediation model of deviant peer affiliation and self-control.

Although a growing body of research documents the negative association between school connectedness and adolescent problematic Internet use (PIU), little is known about the mediating mechanism (i.e., how school connectedness relates to PIU?) and moderating mechanism (i.e., when the protection is most potent?) underlying this relation. The present study examined whether deviant peer affiliation mediated the relationship between school connectedness and PIU, and whether this mediating process was moderated by adolescent self-control. A total of 2,758 Chinese adolescents (46 % male; mean age = 13.53 years, SD = 1.06) from 10 middle schools completed anonymous questionnaires regarding school connectedness, deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and PIU. After controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, and parental attachment, it was found that the negative association between school connectedness and adolescent PIU was partially mediated by deviant peer affiliation. Moreover, this indirect link was stronger for adolescents with low self-control than for those with high self-control. These findings underscore the importance of integrating the social control theory and organism-environment interaction model to understand how and when school connectedness impacts adolescent PIU.