The development of self- and group orientations among Chinese young adolescents: Implications for social and behavioral adjustment.

Self- and group orientations represent distinct ways of perceiving the relations between the world and the self and are relevant to adolescents' development. Most of the existing studies in this area are cross-sectional, providing little information about how self- and group orientations develop. This 3-year longitudinal study examined the developmental patterns of self- and group orientations and their relations with adjustment among Chinese adolescents. The participants included 1,257 students (648 boys, initial Mage = 13.37 years, SD = 0.63 years). Data on self- and group orientations and social and behavioral adjustment were obtained from multiple sources, including self-reports, peer nominations, and teacher ratings. The results showed that self-orientation increased, and group orientation decreased during early adolescence. Moreover, an increase (slope) in self-orientation was positively associated with subsequent assertive behavior, whereas a slower decrease in group orientation was positively associated with subsequent prosocial behavior and peer preference. The initial level (intercept) of self-orientation was positively associated with later externalizing problems, and the initial level of group orientation was negatively associated with later internalizing problems. The intercepts of self- and group orientations were higher for boys than girls. No significant gender differences were found in the slopes of self- and group orientations or in the associations of intercepts and slopes with adjustment outcomes. The results indicated different developmental patterns of self- and group orientations and their different implications for adjustment in Chinese adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Peers influence the tobacco and alcohol use of Chinese adolescents.

This two-wave longitudinal study examined peer selection and influence pertaining to tobacco and alcohol use by adolescents and their friends in a sample of 854 Chinese adolescents (384 girls: mean age = 13.33 years). Participants nominated friends and self-reported their tobacco and alcohol use at seventh and again at eighth grade. Longitudinal social network analyses revealed evidence of friend influence but not selection over smoking and drinking. Boys increased their levels of smoking at rates greater than that of girls, but no sex moderation of either selection or influence was found. In interpreting these results, it is important to understand the gender norms for Chinese boys and girls and the cultural context of tobacco and alcohol use.

Family matters: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of family-oriented interventions for children with acquired brain injuries.

INTRODUCTION: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a leading cause of disability among children. An increasing number of programs have emerged to involve family members as an integral component of post-ABI rehabilitation. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of such programs among children with ABI. METHODS: Following PRISMA guidelines, search among six databases (PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL) was conducted, followed by abstract/full-text screening and data extraction. Hedge's g was computed for effect sizes. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane guidelines. Meta-regression analyses were conducted on six moderators. RESULTS: A total of 32 studies (reported in 37 articles) were included in the qualitative analysis. Meta-analysis of 20 studies showed a positive small-to-medium effect of family-oriented interventions on child and parental outcomes but not on family functioning. Study design moderated the effect sizes of parent outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This study synthesized the latest empirical evidence of family-oriented rehabilitation programs for pediatric ABI across interventional strategies, study designs, and outcomes. The findings suggested an overall beneficial impact of such programs on both the pediatric patients and their caregivers.

Tobacco and Alcohol Use by Muslim Indonesian Adolescents: Longitudinal Associations With Religiosity and Problem Behavior.

OBJECTIVE: This three-wave (10th to 12th grade) longitudinal study explored the interrelations of religiosity, tobacco and alcohol use, and problem behavior in Indonesian Muslim adolescents. METHOD: The sample included 721 Muslim Indonesian adolescents (48% girls) who participated in at least one assessment when they were in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. Of these, 499 were recruited in 10th grade, with others added at 11th and 12th grades. RESULTS: Prior month use for 10th-grade boys and girls, respectively, was 49.2% and 5.2% for tobacco and 19.0% and 3.6% for alcohol. Tobacco use and alcohol use were negatively associated with religiosity for boys, but these associations were more inconsistent for girls. Consistent with U.S. findings, there was a bidirectional longitudinal association between tobacco and alcohol use. The longitudinal models and associations with problem behavior were similar for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence of negative longitudinal associations between religiosity and tobacco use. The more frequent use of tobacco than alcohol may be attributable to religion, cost differentials, and social norms. Despite large gender differences in the frequencies of use, the similar predictors of tobacco and alcohol use for boys and girls suggest that models accounting for substance use are comparable for both sexes. These results have implications for the design of prevention programs in Indonesia and other culturally and religiously similar countries.

Maternal encouragement of competitiveness and school adjustment in Chinese adolescents.

Due to rapid urbanization and modernization, individual competitiveness has become increasingly important for individuals to acquire success in the contemporary Chinese society. This 1-year longitudinal study examined the relations between maternal encouragement of competitiveness and adjustment in Chinese adolescents (N = 1,493, 720 boys, Mage = 13 years). Maternal encouragement of competitiveness was assessed using child reports, and information on adolescents' adjustment was obtained from peer reports, teacher ratings, and school records. The results showed that maternal encouragement of competitiveness was negatively related to later teacher-rated learning problems. Moreover, maternal encouragement of competitiveness positively contributed to later peer-assessed assertiveness and social status among those who were initially high on assertiveness and social status. The results were discussed in the Chinese context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model of self-esteem and friendship intimacy.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a major mental disorder and poses a serious threat to public health. Bullying victimization is identified as one of the major risk factors for depression in adolescence. Understanding the mechanism that explain why bullying victimization leads to depression, and identifying protective factors that could alleviate the negative effects of bullying victimization are pivotal to developing effective intervention programs. METHODS: A sample of Chinese adolescents in junior high schools (N = 458, 50.58 % girls, M age = 11.63 years at T1) was followed for three years. The data on depression, bullying victimization, self-esteem, and friendship intimacy were collected from adolescents' self-report. RESULTS: After controlling related variables, T1 bullying victimization positively predicted T3 depressive symptoms. T2 self-esteem mediated the link between T1 bullying victimization and T3 depressive symptoms when T1 friendship intimacy was low. More specifically, only for youth who reported low friendship intimacy, bullying victimization would lead to a lower level of self-esteem, which in turn, was associated with a higher level of depression. LIMITATIONS: The study only considered the roles of self-esteem as the mediator and friendship intimacy as the moderator. All measures were based on self-report. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlighted the role of friendship intimacy and self-esteem in the longitudinal relation between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. The results suggest that intervention programs aiming at reducing victimized adolescents' depressive symptoms should consider the buffering effect of friendship intimacy.

Autonomy- and connectedness-oriented behaviors of toddlers and mothers at different historical times in urban China.

This study examined toddlers' autonomy- and connectedness-oriented behaviors and mothers' encouragement of autonomy and connectedness in two cohorts (1995 and 2008) in urban China. Observational data were collected from Chinese children and their mothers in a laboratory free play session. The results showed that compared with children in the 1995 cohort (207 children, 95 boys, Mage = 24.09 months), children in the 2008 cohort (281 children, 144 boys, Mage = 24.34 months) displayed fewer connectedness-oriented behaviors and spent more time on autonomous activities. Compared with mothers in the 1995 cohort (45% with a college education), mothers in the 2008 cohort (43.4% with a college education) were less likely to display involvement in children's activities and more likely to encourage child autonomy. The results suggest that macrolevel contexts may play an important role in shaping parenting and children's behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Maternal encouragement of sociability and adjustment in nonmigrant and migrant children in urban China.

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the relations between maternal encouragement of sociability and social, school, and psychological adjustment in nonmigrant (n = 355, Mage = 9.90 years) and migrant children (n = 248, Mage = 9.95 years) in urban China. Data were obtained from multiple sources, including mothers' reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and child self-reports. The results showed that maternal encouragement of sociability negatively contributed to later loneliness in nonmigrant children, but not in migrant children. Moreover, among nonmigrant children, maternal encouragement of sociability was negatively associated with later behavioral problems for those who had higher initial behavioral problems, and positively associated with later perceived self-worth for those with higher initial self-worth. Among migrant children, the maternal encouragement of sociability was positively associated with later peer victimization and learning problems for those who had higher initial problems. The results indicate that maternal encouragement of sociability may function differently in the nonmigrant and migrant family contexts in China. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Shyness and Psychological Maladjustment in Chinese Adolescents: Selection and Influence Processes in Friendship Networks.

Few studies have been conducted to examine the role shyness plays in friendship selection and influences processes, particularly how befriending shy peers affects individual's psychological adjustment. To address these gaps, this study investigated the selection, de-selection, same behavior influence effects of shyness in the friendship network in Chinese adolescents using the longitudinal social network analysis. It also explored the possible pathways that transmit indirect influences of friends' shyness to individual's psychological maladjustments (i.e., loneliness and depressive symptoms). A sample of adolescents (N = 1254, 48.4% girls, Mage = 13.20 years at Time 1) were followed for three years in middle schools. The results showed that adolescents tended to befriend those who had similar shyness level during T1-T2 interval, but the friendships between shy friends were more likely to terminate during T2-T3 interval. Moreover, adolescents were found to become more similar with their friends in shyness over time. The study also found that friends' shyness at T1 would influence individual's loneliness at T3 via 1) increasing friends' loneliness at T2 or 2) increasing individual's shyness level at T2. Those two pathways, however, were not found for depressive symptoms. These findings indicate that shyness plays an important role in the friendship formation and dissolution and befriending shy peers may have implications for adolescents' development of shyness and loneliness.

Relations of maternal power assertion and autonomy support with children's adjustment in Korea.

The present study examined how maternal power assertion and autonomy support were associated with children's social, school, and psychological adjustment in Korea. The participants were 631 Korean elementary school students (306 boys; mean age = 10.15 years) and their mothers. Maternal power assertion and autonomy support were assessed through mothers' reports. Data on children's adjustment were collected from multiple sources, including peer evaluations, teacher ratings, and children's self-reports. It was found that maternal power assertion was positively associated with children's social and school adjustment. Maternal autonomy support was positively associated with children's social and school adjustment and negatively associated with psychological problems. The results suggest that, in general, children may benefit from both maternal power assertion and autonomy support, which may serve similar as well as different functions in children's adjustment in specific domains. The results are discussed in terms of the context of contemporary Korea. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Relations between maternal power-assertive parenting and adjustment in Chinese children: A longitudinal study.

This 1-year longitudinal study examined relations between maternal power-assertive parenting and children's social, academic and psychological adjustment in China. Participants were 316 elementary school children (mean age = 11 years, 153 boys). Maternal power-assertive parenting was assessed using children's self-reports. Data on children's social and school adjustment were obtained from peer evaluations and teacher ratings. In addition, children completed measures of loneliness and depression. Cross-lagged analyses indicated that whereas maternal power-assertive parenting was only related to later academic adjustment, children's adjustment in socioemotional and academic domains contributed to the prediction of later maternal power-assertive parenting. The results were discussed in the Chinese context.

Religiosity and Effortful Control as Predictors of Indonesian Adolescents' Tobacco and Alcohol Use: Moderation and Mediation.

Moderation and mediation models of religiosity and effortful control as predictors of tobacco and alcohol use were tested in this 2-year longitudinal study of 563 16-year-old Muslim Indonesian adolescents. Adolescents reported their effortful control, religiosity, and tobacco and alcohol use and peers provided reports of adolescents' effortful control. Although both moderation and mediation effects emerged when predicting Year 2 substance use, predictions of change from Year 1 to Year 2 substance use yielded effects of moderation for peer- but not self-reported effortful control for boys; no mediation effects emerged. These findings provide evidence of interconnections between effortful control and religiosity as predictors of substance use and suggest the need for further longitudinal studies that compare moderation and mediation models.

Predicting Substance Use and Deviant Behavior from Prosociality and Sociability in Adolescents.

Social competence is commonly considered an important factor that impedes maladaptive development because individuals who lack adequate competence to direct or control their behaviors in social situations are likely to display problems. Despite the belief that social competence may be a multi-dimensional construct, existing research has not explored the unique contributions of its different aspects to development. The present two-wave longitudinal study examined relations of prosociality and sociability, two major aspects of social competence, with problem behaviors in a sample of adolescents. Peer assessment data on prosociality and sociability and self-report data on substance use and deviant behavior were obtained from a sample of adolescents in middle (N = 657, mean age = 13 years) and high (N = 675, mean age = 16 years) schools in China. The results showed that prosociality negatively predicted later problem behaviors, whereas sociability positively predicted later problem behaviors. In addition, gender and grade moderated the associations between sociability and problem behaviors. More specifically, the positive association between sociability and later substance use was significant for boys, but not for girls. Sociability was also more strongly associated with later substance use in middle school than in high school. The results indicate that prosociality and sociability may have different functional meanings in adolescent development and have implications for practical work with adolescents who display problem behaviors.

Maternal involvement in children's leisure activities in rural China: Relations with adjustment outcomes.

This 1-year longitudinal study examined maternal involvement in children's leisure activities and its relations with children's adjustment in rural China. Participants included 184 children (93 boys and 91 girls) initially in third grade (mean age = 9.31 years). Children were asked to report the frequencies of mothers' involvement in leisure activities. Information on children's social, school, and psychological adjustment were collected from multiple sources including peer evaluations, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. The results showed that children's perceptions of maternal involvement in leisure activities positively predicted later social and school adjustment, particularly in boys. Furthermore, child initial adjustment status moderated the relations between maternal leisure activity involvement and child outcomes. The results suggest that maternal involvement in children's leisure activities, which has traditionally been neglected in the society, is a significant factor in contributing to child development in today's rural China. (PsycINFO Database Record

Judgments of damage to public versus private property in Chinese children at different historical times.

This study examined children's judgments of damage to public versus private property in China at two historical times. Participants were two cohorts (1980 and 2012) of elementary school children at ages 7, 9, and 11 years. The children were administered paired stories that described a protagonist who damaged public or private property with a good or bad intention. The results showed that children in the 2012 cohort were less likely than their counterparts in the 1980 cohort to judge damage to public property as more culpable than damage to private property. The cohort differences were more evident in older children than in younger children. The results suggest that macro-level contexts may play an important role in shaping children's judgments.

The influence of peer behavior as a function of social and cultural closeness: A meta-analysis of normative influence on adolescent smoking initiation and continuation.

Although the influence of peers on adolescent smoking should vary depending on social dynamics, there is a lack of understanding of which elements are most crucial and how this dynamic unfolds for smoking initiation and continuation across areas of the world. The present meta-analysis included 75 studies yielding 237 effect sizes that examined associations between peers' smoking and adolescents' smoking initiation and continuation with longitudinal designs across 16 countries. Mixed-effects models with robust variance estimates were used to calculate weighted-mean Odds ratios. This work showed that having peers who smoke is associated with about twice the odds of adolescents beginning (OR ¯ = 1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.76, 2.19]) and continuing to smoke (OR ¯ = 1.78, 95% CI [1.55, 2.05]). Moderator analyses revealed that (a) smoking initiation was more positively correlated with peers' smoking when the interpersonal closeness between adolescents and their peers was higher (vs. lower); and (b) both smoking initiation and continuation were more positively correlated with peers' smoking when samples were from collectivistic (vs. individualistic) cultures. Thus, both individual as well as population level dynamics play a critical role in the strength of peer influence. Accounting for cultural variables may be especially important given effects on both initiation and continuation. Implications for theory, research, and antismoking intervention strategies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Affiliation with Socially Withdrawn Groups and Children's Social and Psychological Adjustment.

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the effects of membership in socially withdrawn peer groups on children's social and psychological adjustment in a sample of 979 children (417 boys, 562 girls, M age = 11.84 years). Data on children's social and psychological adjustment and problems were collected from peer nominations and self-reports in the fall and spring of a single academic year. Using the Social Cognitive Map, 162 peer groups were identified. Multilevel analyses showed that affiliation with withdrawn groups negatively predicted social competence and school attitude, and positively predicted victimization and depression. The results suggest that affiliation with socially withdrawn groups is a risk factor for the development of social and psychological problems.