Life satisfaction mediates the association between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms: a study in a sample of Brazilian adolescents

Social Capital and Depression Among Adolescents Relocated for Poverty Alleviation: The Mediating Effect of Life Satisfaction

Background: China's relocated for poverty alleviation policy has played a pivotal role in eradicating extreme poverty nationwide. However, adolescents relocating with their parents may face multifaceted challenges, including abrupt shifts in their living environments, the reconstruction of social capital, and the psychological turbulence inherent to adolescence. Objectives: We aimed to explore predictors of reducing depressive symptoms in relocated adolescents. We analyzed the associations between social capital, life satisfaction, and adolescent depression. Methods: This study investigated 631 adolescents aged 10-19 years from 24 relocation for poverty alleviation resettlement sites in Shanxi Province. Respondents completed basic demographic information and questionnaires on adolescent social capital, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. The mediating role of life satisfaction was assessed using PROCESS 3.4 analysis. Results: The mean social capital score of the adolescents was 31.96 ± 3.666, the mean life satisfaction score was 23.21 ± 6.282, the mean depression score was 4.03 ± 5.503, and the depression detection rate was 15.2%. We found that social capital was significantly positively correlated with life satisfaction (r = 0.363, p ˂ 0.05), both social capital and life satisfaction were negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = -0.362, p ˂ 0.05; r = -0.398, p ˂ 0.05), and life satisfaction partially mediated the association between social capital and depressive symptoms (mediating effect of 18.20%). Conclusions: Adolescents in communities relocated for poverty alleviation are overall satisfied with their lives, but some are experiencing some form of depression. Both social capital and life satisfaction are associated with lower depression levels, and those with higher life satisfaction are better able to cope with the changes in social capital associated with environmental changes after relocation, thus helping to reduce depressive symptoms.

Parent-Child Mismatch in Educational Expectations and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese Adolescents

BACKGROUND

The roles of both parents' and children's educational expectations in shaping adolescent depressive symptoms have increasingly been discussed, yet in a separate manner. To date, few studies have associated parent-child mismatch in educational expectations with depressive symptoms, and less is known about the variation in the association across gender (male vs. female), educational level (primary vs. secondary), and region status (urban vs. rural) in the Chinese educational setting.

METHODS

Respondents were from a nationally representative sample of adolescent students in China (sample size: 1844; age range: 10-15 years). Parent-child mismatch in educational expectations included three categories: (1) "match", (2) "mismatch-parent higher", and (3) "mismatch-parent lower". Regression analysis with inverse propensity-score weighting was employed to estimate the effect of parent-child mismatch as to educational expectations on depressive symptoms, and stratified analysis was used to examine the variation of the effect by gender, educational level, and region.

RESULTS

Compared with the "match" group, the "mismatch-parent higher" group had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the pattern remained consistent between boys and girls, but differed significantly by adolescents' educational level and region status. Specifically, the pattern was more pronounced in the primary school and urban subsamples.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings in this study indicated that educators and policymakers can develop tailored strategies to alleviate depressive symptoms among the "mismatch-parent higher" group, and especially for those children from primary schools and urban areas.

Does Helping Others Always Benefit Health? Longitudinal Evidence on the Relationship between Helping Behavior and Depression: The Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction and the Moderating Effect of IADL

Background

This study aims to explore whether helping behavior is always beneficial for alleviating depression or if there is a "moderation is the key" effect.

Materials and Methods

This study focused on a sample of 7,436 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) was used to identify the presence of depression. Linear mixed model and Quasi-Bayesian estimation methods were used to explore the mediating role of life satisfaction in the relationship between helping behavior and depression, as well as the moderating effects of the instrumental activity of daily living (IADL). Additionally, we employed the Johnson-Neyman technique to visualize the moderating effect of IADL.

Results

Helping behavior shows a negative correlation with depression (B = -0.170, p = 0.020), where life satisfaction fully mediates this relationship (effect = -0.055, 95% confidence interval = -0.088 to -0.022). Moreover, the association between helping behavior and life satisfaction is moderated by IADL (B = -0.047, p < 0.001). Specifically, when IADL is below 0.56, helping behavior positively impacts life satisfaction. In contrast, when IADL exceeds 1.99, helping behavior has a detrimental effect on life satisfaction.

Conclusions

This study highlights the significant positive impact of helping behavior on depression alleviation, which is achieved by increasing life satisfaction. Notably, although helping behavior has positive effects on individuals, not everyone can benefit directly from it. Only those without functional limitations are more likely to experience the benefits of such behavior. Therefore, when policymakers and researchers develop strategies to encourage individuals in helping behavior to combat depression, they should consider two key approaches. First, life satisfaction should be used as an important indicator in the treatment of depression, allowing for timely adjustments to ensure the effectiveness and individualization of treatment plans. Second, the principle of "moderation is the key" should be prioritized, ensuring that helping behavior can maximize its benefits and help individuals emerge from the shadows of depression.

Study protocol: the Norwegian Triple-S Cohort Study - establishing a longitudinal health survey of children and adolescents with experiences of maltreatment

BACKGROUND

Child maltreatment is prevalent and associated with both short- and long-term health problems. Previous studies have established child maltreatment as a risk factor for a wide range of problems over the life course such as mental- and somatic health problems, self-harm, alcohol- and drug abuse and decreased work-life participation. Still, there are few large and well-conducted longitudinal studies focusing on describing prevalence and identifying risk factors and long-term consequences of child maltreatment. The purpose of the current study is to recruit a large number of children and adolescents exposed to maltreatment and follow them long-term.

METHODS/DESIGN

The current study is a longitudinal cohort study and will use a multi-informant design (child/adolescent, caregiver, and administrative data). Participants will be recruited from the Stine Sofie Centre (SSC), a learning and coping centre for children and adolescents (≤18 years) exposed to maltreatment, which includes physical and emotional abuse, neglect and/or sexual abuse. Questionnaire-based assessments from self-reports (as well as parent-reports) will be carried out at regular time intervals throughout their lives, on topics such as abuse, negative life events, mental and somatic health problems, resilience and coping, satisfaction with health services, social-, family-, and school function, as well as self-harm and substance abuse. Participants will be assessed upon entry to the centre and followed up annually until they reach 18 years and bi-annually after. Given written consent, participants' responses will be linked to relevant national registries in order to examine predictive factors and important outcomes in terms of subsequent health, education, criminal records and work affiliation.

DISCUSSION

This study will examine short- and long-term consequences of child maltreatment across a range of health-related outcomes in a longitudinal perspective. Results from the current study might have implications for the development of preventive and intervention programs related to child maltreatment and the organization and follow-up of the services these children receive. The current study will hopefully contribute with knowledge of risk-factors, short- and long-term health-related and other issues that can contribute to practices aimed at improving the overall life-course for children and adolescents who have experienced childhood maltreatment.