Socio-demographic correlates of suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

An Analysis of the Longitudinal Effects of Academic Stress, Insecure Attachment, and Sense of Community on Adolescent Suicidal Ideation

This study aimed to examine the independent influences of academic stress, insecure attachment, and sense of community on suicidal ideation among adolescents. In particular, the independent influence of the sense of community on adolescent suicide was verified by controlling for other variables. For this purpose, youth data (7324 persons) from the panel data of the 4th to 6th Korean Education Longitudinal Studies of the Korea Educational Development Institute were used. Statistical analyses were performed using a generalized estimation equation (GEE). The analysis revealed that gender, academic stress, insecure attachment, and sense of community significantly influenced suicidal ideation. Female students had higher suicidal ideation than male students, and the higher the academic stress and degree of insecure attachment, the higher the suicidal ideation. In particular, the independent influence of a sense of community on suicidal ideation was significant; the higher the sense of community, the lower the suicide ideation score. The implication of this study is to comprehensively consider the factors related to adolescent suicidal ideation in various systems based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory. This research suggests that helping schools and communities to increase their sense of community, which is a macrosystem factor, is important in preventing adolescent suicide.

Understanding the relationship between distress intolerance and problematic Internet use: The mediating role of coping motives and the moderating role of need frustration

INTRODUCTION

There is emerging research interest in exploring the relationship between distress intolerance and problematic Internet use, yet most of the existing studies are limited by cross-sectional design, convenience sampling method, and poor understanding of the potential mediating and moderating factors involved. Based on the distress intolerance theory of addictive behavior and the theory of compensatory internet use, this study investigated a moderated mediation model to explain the impact of distress intolerance on problematic Internet use in adolescents.

METHODS

A three-wave longitudinal survey was conducted with 709 adolescents in Shanghai, China. The gender distribution was even, 50.2% were boys and 49.8% were girls. The mean age at T1 was 14.79 years (SD = 2.87).

RESULTS

Distress intolerance at Time 1 was found to positively predict problematic Internet use at Time 3. This prospective relation was mediated by adolescents' coping motives for Internet use at Time 2. Further, the mediation effect of coping motives for Internet use was moderated by need frustration at Time 2. The moderated mediation model was statistically equivalent for both genders.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings of this study contribute to new knowledge and have practical implications for prevention and intervention of adolescent problematic Internet use.

A longitudinal study of the impact of parental discipline on wellbeing among primary school students in China: The roles of school attachment and growth mindset

BACKGROUND

Various parental disciplinary strategies may have different impacts on children's wellbeing. Protective factors, such as school attachment and a growth mindset, may mitigate the influence of harsh discipline on a child's wellbeing.

OBJECTIVE

Based on the strengths-based trauma-informed positive education model, the current study investigated the impacts of three types of parental discipline (corporal punishment, psychological aggression, and nonviolent discipline) on primary school students' wellbeing and examined the moderating roles of school attachment and a growth mindset (both disjunctive and conjunctive moderating effects) in the relationship between parental discipline and student wellbeing.

METHODS

A sample of 854 primary school students (M = 9.40) from eight schools in Hong Kong, China, completed the questionnaire survey at two time points (Time 1 and Time 2), one year apart. Hierarchical regression analysis was applied for data analysis.

RESULTS

Parental psychological aggression at Time 1 (T1) was significantly and negatively related to student wellbeing at Time 2 (T2). Parental nonviolent discipline students' school attachment and growth mindset at T1 were significantly and positively correlated with student wellbeing at T2, when controlling for the students' initial wellbeing and important confounding demographic variables. School attachment moderated the association between parental psychological aggression and student wellbeing.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental psychological aggression has negative impacts while nonviolent discipline has positive impacts on primary school students' wellbeing. Students who are more attached to school and have a growth mindset show higher levels of wellbeing. The study provides further evidence of the role of school attachment in moderating the effect of parental psychological aggression on children's wellbeing in the trauma-informed positive education model.

Effects of Aerobic Exercise and High-Intensity Interval Training on the Mental Health of Adolescents Living in Poverty: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

The increasing rate of mental health issues among adolescents has recently been a considerable concern in Hong Kong. In particular, adolescents with low socioeconomic status (SES) are likely to experience poor mental health, including low self-esteem and high levels of anxiety, anger, and depression. Previous research has found that physical activities have a positive impact on improving mental health outcomes among adolescents. However, approximately 96% of adolescents in Hong Kong do not engage in regular exercise, which potentially increases the risk of poor mental health.

Objective

In this study, we aim to examine whether changes in the 3 indicators (reduced ill-being, enhanced well-being, and cognitive functions) of mental health among adolescents with low SES are evident before and after exercise. In addition, this study compares the effectiveness of aerobic exercise and high-intensity interval training on these indicators among adolescents with low SES.

Methods

A total of 78 participants from low-income families aged between 12 and 15 years from 3 to 4 secondary schools will be recruited for this study. They will be randomly assigned to either an aerobic exercise group (26/78, 33%), a high-intensity interval training group (26/78, 33%), or a control group (26/78, 33%). Participants in the first 2 groups will take part in a 10-week training program period. Participants in the control group will participate in other physical activities during the same intervention period. The training sessions will be conducted 3 times per week on nonconsecutive days. A range of neuropsychological tests and psychometric scales will be used to measure the executive functions and indicators of psychological well-being and ill-being, including enjoyment, self-efficacy, mood, depression, anxiety, and stress at pretest, posttest, and follow-up assessments.

Results

The project was funded in 2021 by the Research Matching Grant Scheme, through the University Grants Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Ethical approval has been obtained from the author’s institution. Participant recruitment will begin in January 2022 and continue through to April 2022. Data collection and follow-up are expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2023.

Conclusions

The findings will help inform policy makers and practitioners in promoting the importance of physical exercise to enhance mental health.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT050293888; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT05029388

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/34915

Predictors of suicidal ideation with sub-optimal health status and anxiety symptom among Chinese adolescents

Evidences in respect to the predictors of suicide ideation are uncertain and most associations only have been identified in cross-sectional studies. More information is needed to identify whether these predictors are true risk factors and can predict the development of suicidal ideation independently. Using the data from a prospective, longitudinal study (n = 2348), we examined the predictors of suicide ideation with demographic variety and psychological well-being of adolescents. Positive items of sub-optimal health status and anxiety symptom at baseline could strongly predict the incidence of self-reported suicidal ideation on a 1-year follow-up study. These results have implications for programs aimed at identifying school students at risk for suicide.

The epigenetics of suicide: explaining the biological effects of early life environmental adversity

A number of recent studies have shown epigenetic alterations associated with suicidal behavior. These epigenetic mechanisms, which alter gene expression via alternative mechanisms to the coding DNA sequence, result from environmental effects acting on the genome. Studies in rodents indicate that variation in the early environment will trigger these epigenetic modifications and recent human data suggest the same may be true in humans.The expression of a number of genes, which are involved in normal brain functions and that have been shown to be under epigenetic control, seem to be dysregulated in suicide. The present review briefly describes the main epigenetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of gene expression and discusses recent findings of epigenetic alterations in suicidal behavior.