Xu He

The association between excessive screen media use and mental health problems has attracted widespread attention. The literature to date has neglected the biological mechanisms underlying such a relationship and failed to distinguish between different types of screen media activities. A sample from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study was used in the present study to elucidate the longitudinal associations between specific types of screen media use, brain development, and diverse mental health problems. The results showed that different types of screen media use have differentiated associations with mental health problems, subcortical volume, and cortical–subcortical connectivity. Specifically, more passive media use was associated with increased rule-breaking behavior, while more video game playing was associated with increased withdrawn/depressed symptoms. In addition, more social media use was associated with a reduced volume of the hippocampus, caudate, and thalamus proper. More research is needed to examine the differential effects of screen media use on neurodevelopmental processes and mental health problems across adolescence.

In recent years, adolescent sleep problems have received increasing attention. Stressful life events have been found to be a risk factor for sleep problems, but little is known about the components that may explain or influence this association. To investigate this, the present study tested whether depressive symptoms mediated the association between stressful life events and Chinese freshmen' sleep problems, as well as whether emotional regulation skills moderated this process. A sample of 513 Chinese freshmen (32.2% males, mean age = 19.04 years, SD = 1.21) completed anonymous questionnaires regarding stressful life events, depressive symptoms, emotional regulation and sleep problems (examined using Adolescent Self‐Rating Life Events Checklist, Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Response to Stress Questionnaire). The study included covariates such as gender, age, and socioeconomic level. Depressive symptoms were shown to partially mediated the association between stressful life events and sleep problems in structural equation models. Emotional regulation moderated the relationship betweenn stressful life events and depressive symptoms. The results show that promoting emotional regulation could be beneficial in preventing and intervening sleep problems related to stressful life events.

Existing research suggests that parent-adolescent conflict is associated with increased risk for adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, adolescent NSSI reactions to parent-adolescent conflicts exhibit large individual differences. This study sought to explore whether depressive symptoms mediates the relationship between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent NSSI, and whether this mediating process is moderated by the COMT gene rs4680 polymorphism. A total of 673 adolescents (364 males, 309 females) in the age range of 12 to 15 years (Mean_age = 12.81 years, SD = 0.48) completed questionnaires regarding parent-adolescent conflict, depressive symptoms, and NSSI. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva and buccal cells from each participant. Bootstrapping techniques displayed statistically significant moderated mediation. The results showed that the positive association between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent NSSI was in fact mediated by depressive symptoms. Moreover, this indirect link was moderated by the COMT gene rs4680 polymorphism. Specifically, the risk effect of parent-adolescent conflict on adolescent NSSI via depressive symptoms was stronger for adolescents with Val/Val genotype than for those with Met/Met or Val/Met genotype. These findings underscore the importance of examining the interaction between genes and the environment to understand how and when parent-adolescent conflict impacts adolescent NSSI.

In recent years, adolescent sleep problems have received increasing attention. Stressful life events have been found to be a risk factor for sleep problems, but little is known about the components that may explain or influence this association. To investigate this, present research tested whether depressive symptoms mediated the association between stressful life events and adolescents' sleep problems, as well as whether emotional regulation skills decreased this process. A sample of 513 Chinese university students (32.2% males, mean age = 19.04 years, SD = 1.21) completed anonymous questionnaires regarding stressful life events, depressive symptoms, emotional regulation and sleep problems (examined using Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist, Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Response to Stress Questionnaire). The studies included covariates such as gender, age, and socioeconomic level. Depressive symptoms were shown to partially mediated the association between stressful life events and sleep problems in structural equation models. Emotional regulation buffered the negative effects of stressful life events on depressive symptoms. The results show that promoting emotional regulation could be beneficial in preventing and intervening sleep problems related to stressful life events.

Whether stress impairs available cognitive resources and affects multiple cognitive functions is under debate. The current study used a relatively direct measure of available cognitive resources (i.e., the cognitive control capacity) to test the effect of acute stress and found that cognitive control capacity did not differ between conditions (stress and control) by using both the p-value and Bayes factor as indicators. We argue that stress might not impair higher cognitive functions through depleted cognitive resources after checking the effectiveness of the manipulations. The results potentially contribute to understanding the psychological consequence of stress-related disorders.

Cognitive control, although it has limited capacity, serves an essential role in supporting a broad range of cognitive functions. The backward masking majority function task (MFT-M) is a validated behavioural method for measuring the capacity of cognitive control (CCC), but the administration is lengthy. We tested the relative efficiency of administering the MFT-M using an adaptive method based on the principles of computerised adaptive testing (CAT). Participants were 40 healthy young adults aged 18–26. Scores on the adaptive version were highly correlated with scores based on the original approach to administration and showed high test–retest reliability. In addition, compared with the original task of 864 trials (about 86 min), less than 216 trials (20 min) were required in the adaptive version. The results suggest that CAT is a valid and more efficient method for assessing CCC than the MFT-M. This study provides an example of adaptive trial selection in task administration, an approach that can advance the methodology of behavioural science.