Cai Zhang

Although many studies have indicated that problematic smartphone use and depressive symptoms are closely associated and frequently co-occur in adolescence, little is known about their heterogeneous co-occurrence profiles and how these profiles evolve over time. Using person-centered approaches (LPA and RT-LTA), this study identified the co-occurrence patterns of problematic smartphone use and depressive symptoms, examined their transitions, and investigated the roles of social support and self-control on transitions. A total of 8969 Chinese adolescents (49.3% girls; T1: M_age = 12.86, SD = 0.31) participated in the study over a one-year period with three follow-up assessments. Five co-occurrence profiles consistently emerged: low symptoms, moderate co-occurrence, PSU-dominant, depression-dominant, and high co-occurrence. The low symptoms group showed the highest stability, whereas the PSU-dominant group showed the most transitions. Boys, as well as adolescents with higher levels of social support and self-control, showed a greater likelihood of symptom improvement and a reduced risk of symptom worsening over time, with the protective roles of self-control and social support being stronger among adolescents with less severe symptoms. These findings reveal the heterogeneous manifestations in the co-occurrence of problematic smartphone use and depressive symptoms, their longitudinal transitions and the conditional effects of protective factors among adolescents.

Background: The alleviating effect of positive youth development (PYD) on psychopathological symptoms (PS) represents the less vulnerability hypothesis, while the damaging effect of PS on PYD represents the competitional hypothesis or the scar hypothesis. This study aims to explore which hypothesis is more dominant and which component of PYD plays the central role across developmental stages and environmental adversity. Method: Two longitudinal waves of 40,473 Chinese adolescents (48.4% girls, M _age = 12.67 ± 2.28) were analysed via a cross‐lagged network panel model. Results: The results showed that competition indeed exists between the PYD and PS systems, while the alleviating effect of the PYD is greater than the damaging effect of the PS system, but less than the self‐loop effect within the PS system. The PYD components with the most alleviating effects are self‐esteem, emotion regulation and self‐regulation. With adolescents maturing (early, middle and late adolescence), the alleviating effect surpasses the damaging effect and self‐loop effect in the PS system. When adversity (low, moderate and high) increases in severity, the alleviating effect also surpasses the damaging effect and self‐loop effect in the PS system. In addition, resilience plays a central role in alleviating the PS system only when adversity is high. Conclusions: Compared with the scar hypothesis, the less vulnerability hypothesis showed a more powerful impact. Early and adversity‐aimed interventions aimed at promoting adolescents' positive attributes are the most beneficial. The central PYD components should be treated as core targets in future intervention programs.

Introduction: Mental health issues frequently cluster during adolescence, necessitating a deeper understanding of their developmental trajectories and their impact on behavioral outcomes like smartphone addiction. Based on diathesis-stress model and I-PACE model, this study examined the joint trajectories of depressive symptoms, family stress perception, and academic stress perception among adolescents and their relationship with smartphone addiction.Methods: 12,074 Chinese adolescents (47.9% girls; M_age = 12.28 ± 0.45 years) were assessed for depressive symptoms, perceived family stress and academic stress from seventh to ninth grade, with smartphone addiction measured in the final year.Results: Using a group-based multi-trajectory model, five distinct trajectories were identified: Low-Stable (23.8%), Moderate-Stable (45.9%), Moderate-Increasing (14.8%), High-Decreasing (11.2%), and High-Stable (4.3%). Gender differences were evident, as girls were more likely than boys to belong to higher stress or depressive symptoms trajectories compared to the low-stable group. Smartphone addiction scores differed significantly across trajectory groups, ranging from high-stable to low-stable. Girls consistently showed higher smartphone addiction scores, although the interaction between gender and trajectory group was not significant.Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of recognizing both shared and individual patterns of adolescent mental health development. Schools and families should implement tailored interventions to address depression and stress, particularly for vulnerable groups such as girls, to mitigate the risk of smartphone addiction and promote overall mental well-being.

Purpose: A considerable body of evidence indicated that interpersonal relationships were significantly associated with short-form video addiction (SFVA) among adolescents, but how they are related on a symptom level at different ages remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the central symptoms of SFVA and distinct associations between three primary interpersonal relationships (ie, teacher–student relationships, parent–child relationships, peer relationships) and SFVA symptoms in early and middle adolescence. Participants and Methods: After completing scales of SFVA, teacher–student relationship, parent–child relationship and peer relationship in 2022, a sample of 1579 fourth-grade students (age range: 10– 12; M_age = 10.91, SD = 0.48; 38.6% females) and 2229 eighth-grade students (age range: 13– 15; M_age = 14.82, SD = 0.36; 44.5% females) who were at high risk of SFVA were included in this study. A network analysis approach was conducted to analyze the data. Results: SFVA3 hard to control and SFVA2 increasing time for satisfaction were the most central symptoms of SFVA in both early and middle adolescence. Among interpersonal relationships, teacher–student relationships and peer relationships were the most influential bridge nodes that exerted the largest impact on SFVA in early and middle adolescence, respectively. Comparison of the networks indicated no significant differences in overall network structures, global strength and most edge connections between early and middle adolescence. Conclusion: These findings uncover the interconnections between heterogeneous SFVA symptoms and underscore the unique importance of teacher–student relationships and peer relationships on SFVA in different stages of adolescence, which can be harnessed in the design of future preventive interventions.

Objective: According to Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development, focus on exploring the mechanism of person characteristics (achievement motivation) in their own development (improvement of educational practice ability).Method: A survey was conducted on 1,225 pre-service teachers in Anhui Province, China, using the Achievement Motivation Scale, Professional Identity Scale, Learning Engagement Scale, and Educational Practice Ability Scale.Results: (1) Achievement motivation can significantly and positively predict pre-service teachers’ educational practice ability; (2) Achievement motivation can indirectly affect pre-service teachers’ educational practice ability through the mediating effects of professional identity and learning engagement; (3) Professional identity and learning engagement play a chain mediated role in the impact of achievement motivation on pre-service teachers’ educational practice ability.

Family income is an important factor that affects depression in children and can indirectly be associated with children’s development through family and individual factors. However, few studies have examined the mechanism of multiple risk factors. Therefore, this study focused on the relationship between family income and child depression, as well as the chain mediating the roles of parental involvement and children’s self-esteem both in single-parent families and intact families. A total of 1355 primary school students completed questionnaires that assessed family income, parental involvement, children’s self-esteem, and depression. The results showed that family income influenced child depression through both the mediating roles of parental involvement and children’s self-esteem and the chain mediating role of parental involvement and children’s self-esteem. Meanwhile, family income only influenced child depression through chain mediation in single-parent families. The group differences in the mechanism of depression provide a reference for empirical research on depression intervention in children from different family structures.

Competitive climate and individual competitive characteristics jointly affect the mental health of adolescents. Based on person-environment fit theory, this study aimed to examine the effects of the match between trait competitiveness and competitive climate on depressive symptoms and anxiety. In this study, data were collected from 2235 Chinese adolescents in the 10th to 12th grades (48.8% girls; M_age = 16.06 years, SD_age = 0.95). Self-reported depressive symptoms, general anxiety, trait competitiveness, and competitive climate were assessed. Polynomial regression analyses and response surface analyses indicated that in cases of congruence, as trait competitiveness and competitive climate increase, depressive symptoms and anxiety increase, as do their growth rate. In cases of incongruence, higher levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety are found when trait competitivenesså competitive climate compared to when competitive climateå trait competitiveness. And as trait competitiveness become increasingly higher than competitive climate, the level of depressive symptoms and anxiety were higher. This serves as a reminder for families and schools to place special emphasis on the mental health of adolescents with high levels of trait competitiveness who may exhibit high levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety.