Gengfeng Niu

The limited availability of psychometrically evaluated instruments relevant to the Chinese context has constrained research on online risk behaviors among Chinese adolescents. This study aimed to conceptualize and develop a measure of these behaviors using an integrative mixed-methods approach. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with 45 scholars, teachers, parents, and adolescents explored the conceptual structure and manifestations of adolescent online risk behaviors and informed an initial item pool. In the quantitative phase, two surveys were conducted among Chinese secondary school students: an initial sample of 414 students (44.0% male) and an independent validation sample of 662 students (59.1% male). The findings indicated that adolescent online risk behaviors encompass both adolescents’ own online behaviors and risk-related exposures or experiences that may jeopardize adolescent development, others’ rights, or public safety. Four dimensions were identified: content risk, problematic Internet use, security risk, and interpersonal risk. Quantitative analyses yielded a 21-item questionnaire comprising four factors: Online Content Risk, Problematic Internet Use, Online Security Risk, and Cyberbullying Involvement. The four-factor structure was supported, and the questionnaire demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity. This instrument provides initial empirical support for assessing several dimensions of online risk behaviors among the adolescents included in this study.

Although peer victimization and school refusal tendencies are well documented in early adolescence, the specific within‐person directional associations between the two remain underexplored. Employing a three‐wave Random Intercept Cross‐Lagged Panel Model (RI‐CLPM), this study disentangled stable between‐person differences from within‐person fluctuations in a sample of 510 Chinese early adolescents (53.92% boys; M _age at T1 = 10.30 years, SD = .61), and explored potential gender differences in these processes. Results showed that at the within‐person level, peer victimization significantly predicted prospective school refusal tendencies—a directional transmission most prominent during the initial wave interval (T1–T2)—whereas school refusal tendencies did not predict prospective peer victimization. Multi‐group analysis indicated no significant gender differences in these cross‐lagged associations. These findings highlight the developmentally sensitive role of peer victimization in precipitating school avoidance and emphasize the need for trait‐controlled, timely peer interventions.

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has become an increasingly important public health concern among adolescents, yet the potential protective role of restorative environmental experiences (nature exposure) remains insufficiently understood. Under the perspective of Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) and Attention Restoration Theory (ART), this cross-sectional study examined the association between nature exposure and adolescent PSU, with anxiety and self-control tested as potential mediators. The sample comprised 700 high school students recruited from several high schools in Qinghai Province, China (52.00% female; M age = 17.01 years, SD = 0.78). Nature exposure, anxiety, self-control, and PSU were assessed using self-report measures. The results showed that nature exposure was negatively associated with PSU; anxiety and self-control significantly mediated this association both independently and sequentially. Specifically, more nature exposure was associated with lower anxiety and higher self-control, which, in turn, were associated with lower PSU. These findings suggest that restorative environmental experiences may be associated with reduced vulnerability to PSU through interconnected affective and self-regulatory processes. The present study extends existing literature by integrating emotional and attentional restoration perspectives within a unified framework linking nature exposure to adolescent PSU, and provides implications for the prevention and intervention of PSU.

Problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) is a growing concern linked to adverse mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression. While solitude is a know