Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Well-being is an important aspect of an adolescent’s mental health, and it has been recognized as such by a majority of developmental psychologists. Relatively few studies, however, have examined the latent growth of well-being, particularly during early adolescence. School assets include the school environment, relationships with teachers, and the young person’s attitude toward school. Existing research has shown that school assets are closely related to the current and future levels of well-being of adolescents. However, little is known about the longitudinal mediating mechanism between two variables. The current study used latent growth curve modeling to examine developmental trends in school assets, intentional self-regulation and well-being, incorporating a three-wave longitudinal design. On this basis, a longitudinal mediation model was constructed to examine the effect and longitudinal mediation of the level and slope of intentional self-regulation between school assets and the development of well-being.A sample of 1214 school children (mean age = 12.89 years, SD = 0.51) was followed up for three years from the first year of junior high school to the third year of junior high school. In three waves, they anonymously filled out questionnaires regarding school assets, intentional self-regulation and well-being. All of the measures showed good reliability and validity. The adolescents’ socio-demographic information was collected at the first wave. We used SPSS 21.0 and Mplus 7.4 to analyze the data. A series of models were tested in the following sequence. First, we used the latent growth models to examine the development trend of each variable; second, we examined the effects of school assets on well-being by using the parallel process models; third, we used a longitudinal mediating model to examine the mediation hypothesis. In this model we first used a causal-step strategy to inspect the specific paths, and we used the bootstrap method to test the indirect effects. Results showed that, during early adolescence, school assets remained stable, self-regulation and well-being increased in a linear manner during the follow-up period, but, the higher the initial level, the slower the growth rate. After controlling for gender and district, the structural equation model showed that school assets had a positive effect on the level of well-being, but it could not directly predict the growth rate of well-being; School assets can indirectly affect the initial level of well-being through the initial level of intentional self-regulation. These findings suggest that early adolescence may be a critical period for the development of intentional self-regulation and well-being. They not only highlight the importance of school assets for the growth of intentional self-regulation and well-being during early adolescence, but also confirm the indirect role of the adolescent’s own developmental strength in the relationship between school assets and well-being.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Given a broad range of changes in cognitive, emotional, and social relationships, adolescence might mark the beginning of a period of significant fluctuations in psychosocial adaptation because it is a period of preparation for the future that requires special attention and protective measures. The developmental characteristics of different aspects of adolescents’ adaptation have been well studied. However, these previous studies, which have tended to explore various aspects of adolescents’ adaptation in isolation, have been unable to reflect the diversity of adolescents’ adaptation patterns and their variability over time. In addition, exploring and determining school situation-related predictors are essential for helping education professionals understand the relevant factors that affect various profiles and transition patterns of adolescents’ adaptation and, thus, formulate effective prevention and intervention programs to maintain and improve adolescents’ psychosocial adaptation. This study uses a person-centered approach to explore the profiles and transition patterns of early adolescents’ psychosocial adaptation and investigate gender differences and the protective role of school assets. A sample of 1012 junior middle school students was selected as participants and measured three times. The adolescents completed loneliness, depression, happiness, school assets scales, and peer nomination forms during the three measurements. The head teacher assessed the students’ prosocial and externalized problem behaviors. The descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were analyzed by SPSS 21.0. The profiles and transition patterns of adolescents’ psychosocial adaptation and the predictive effects of school assets and gender were further analyzed using Mplus 7.4. The results showed that adolescents’ psychosocial adaptation had two profiles at T1: a well-adapted profile and an internalizing problem profile. Adolescents at T2 and T3 were divided into four profiles: a well-adapted profile, an internalizing problem profile, an externalizing problem profile, and a peer rejection profile. From T2 to T3, adolescents in the well-adapted and internalizing problem profiles were more likely to remain in the original group, whereas the peer rejection and externalizing problem profiles showed a higher degree of transition. Adolescents in the peer rejection and externalizing problem profiles were more likely to transition to the well-adapted profile. In addition, school assets were a protective factor for adolescents’ psychosocial adaptation. As school assets increased, adolescents were more likely to be and remain in the well-adapted profile, whereas those in the externalizing problem and peer rejection profiles were more likely to transition to the well-adapted profile. The study also found gender differences in the profiles: at T2, girls were more likely to enter the internalizing problem profile. This study adds to the understanding of the diversity of the psychosocial adaptation development patterns of early adolescents and suggests the need for comprehensive screening and dynamic monitoring of adolescent adaptation and more complex intervention programs tailored to the specific characteristics of the relevant groups and boys and girls. In addition, identifying the protective role of school assets can help mental health professionals understand the supporting factors in the development of individual health, thereby promoting the positive development of adolescents. Moreover, this study provides a reference for school context-based assessment and intervention strategies.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2019-07-14
Abstract： " Adolescent externalizing behaviors as a general and persistent form of maladaptiveness have received widespread attention. In the past, research in the field of developmental psychology has focused more on the impact of risk factors on adolescent externalizing behaviors. Although these studies had an important role in reducing these behaviors, focusing on positive factors not only can reduce adolescent externalizing behaviors, but can also replace externalizing behaviors by promoting the development of positive behaviors. In recent years, studies have begun to examine the impact of positive factors on adolescent externalizing behaviors, and have identified multiple positive factors in the prevention of these behaviors. Few studies, however, have explored the accumulative impact of positive factors on adolescent externalizing behaviors. Concerning this topic, the developmental assets model provided us with an ideal research tool. Based on this model, the present study used a longitudinal study design to examine the cumulative effects of multiple developmental assets on adolescent externalizing behaviors. In addition, this investigation also examined the relationship model between cumulative developmental assets and externalizing behaviors, as well as the possible moderating roles of gender in this model. A sample of 1,219 adolescents were recruited from three middle schools in Shandong, China. Quantitative surveys were administered to participants in December, 2015 (T1) and December, 2016 (T2). Adolescents only participated in the first survey, completing a self-administered questionnaire involving demographic variables and developmental assets. The head teachers participated in both surveys and completed an assessment of the externalizing behaviors of the students in their class. A series of analyses were conducted using SPSS 22.0 software, including descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, logistic regression analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results of the study were as follows: (1) the developmental assets had a cumulative effect on the reduction of adolescents’ current and subsequent externalizing behaviors. In the cumulative effects relationship model, there was a differentiation between current and subsequent externalizing behaviors, which was characterized by the nonlinear pattern of the quadratic function between cumulative developmental assets and current externalizing behaviors, and a linear pattern between cumulative developmental assets and subsequent externalizing behaviors. (2) The moderating effect of gender was only significant in the nonlinear relationship of the quadratic function between the cumulative developmental assets and current externalizing behaviors. In short, the present study is the first to demonstrate the cumulative effects of developmental assets on adolescent externalizing behaviors, as well as the relationship model of the cumulative effects and the moderating effect of gender underlying the relationship model. This study provides a basis for targeted asset construction and the prevention of adolescent externalizing behaviors.
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