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We consider auditory and visual temporal processing and alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric rapid naming to separately examine the associations of temporal processing and rapid naming with Chinese character reading in children with and without dyslexia. A total of 112 Chinese children in primary school from third grade to sixth grade were recruited from Taiwan. Half of them were identified as dyslexic, and the other half were typically developing children matched to the dyslexic group by age, gender, and IQ. The interaction of groups of participants and non-alphanumeric rapid naming contributed significantly to Chinese character reading in addition to temporal processing and rapid naming. Moreover, the important role of rapid naming in the contribution of temporal processing to Chinese character reading was found only in children with dyslexia (specific to non-alphanumeric rapid naming). On the contrary, the significant contributions of temporal processing to Chinese character reading without rapid naming were found in children with and without dyslexia. However, the auditory modality was identified for typically developing children, while the visual modality was identified for children with dyslexia. The present study is among the first to show the associations among temporal processing on visual and auditory modalities, different rapid naming, and reading in Chinese children with and without dyslexia. Our results imply qualitative differences between the cognitive profiles of Chinese children with and without dyslexia. Our findings in this study may enhance understanding and preliminarily bridge the current research gap in the field of temporal processing in Chinese.

This cross-sectional study aims to examine the age differences in state anxiety (i.e., anxiety triggered toward specific situations) as well as its relationship to the reading comprehension of Chinese students with and without dyslexia across school ages. In total, 131 typically developing students and 81 students with dyslexia in primary and secondary schools were recruited in Taiwan. Our results indicate that students with versus those without dyslexia have different patterns of state anxiety across the three age levels. In addition, we found similar patterns between students with dyslexia and those without across the three age levels in the effects of state anxiety on reading comprehension. However, the contributions of state anxiety to reading comprehension tended to decline as typically developing students matured, while they remained relatively constant for students with dyslexia across the three age levels. These results may have implications for teaching activities or examinations for students whose state anxiety has a significant impact on their reading comprehension skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using cross-societal probability data consisting of 2582 adolescents from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Taiwan, this research investigated the prevalence or rates of cyberbullying and explored the similarities and differences in ranking orders of cyberbullying and victimisation behaviour and in associations of gender and grade level with cyberbullying among these three societies. The results revealed that cyberbullying is prevalent and online curses/insults/humiliation was the most frequent form of cyberbullying. The ranking orders of behaviour showed more discordance than concordance across societies. Males are more likely to report perpetration. No gender differences were found in victimisation. Grade-level differences in cyberbullying were shown to be weak or insignificant across societies. This study implies that the prevalence and behavioural ranking orders of cyberbullying vary, but the associations of gender and grade level with cyberbullying are similar across these diverse Chinese societies. Potential policy interventions regarding cyberbullying in Chinese societies were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a theoretical model of how perceived parental, teacher, and peer support in adolescence mediate the pathway from cybervictimisation to psychological distress and further examines how the interrelationships of cybervictimisation, perceived support, and psychological distress differ between countries and genders. A cross-societal probability sample of 1,932 middle school students was collected from Taiwan and Chinese Mainland. The results of structural equation modelling analysis showed that cybervictimisation has a significant direct association with psychological distress and stronger indirect association through parental support. Similar results were found across countries and genders. The findings imply that the perceived support in adolescence plays an important mediating role in the pathway from cybervictimisation to psychological distress. This suggests that developing or incorporating social support into an intervention on cybervictimisation could effectively prevent further psychological distress in both genders and in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a large-scale dataset from Hong Kong, this study describes the prevalence of cyberbullying and examines how gender and grade level relate to cyberbullying among secondary school students in Hong Kong. Participants were 1,855 students from secondary schools (Forms 1 to 7). Students were given an anonymous questionnaire that included a scale for reporting their experiences of cyberbullying. Responses indicated that 17.8% of students reported cyberbullying and 30.9% experienced at least one type of cyberbullying in the past three months. Curses, insults, and humiliation were the most common types of cyberbullying. Males reported higher rates of bullying and victimization than did females. The overall rates of bullying and victimization peaked in Forms 2 or 3 and in Form 6. Cyberbullying among secondary students in Hong Kong is a serious problem that needs immediate attention. Potential intervention programs should target males and students in Forms 2, 3, and 6. Programs should mainly aim to reduce online curses, insults, and humiliation by students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: This paper examines how peer social support mediates the association between school victimization and student psychological health among junior-high students in an Asian context (Taiwan), and further examines how gender and ethnicity differ in the interrelationships of school violence, peer social support and psychological health. Methods: Data were obtained from a large-scale random sample of 1650 junior-high students (grades 7–9) in one diverse county of Taiwan. Students were given an anonymous structured questionnaire, including items regarding basic demographics and school social experiences. Results: The results of structural equation modeling analysis provided a good fit for the sample as a whole. The final model accounted for 26% of the variance in student psychological health. Overall findings showed that student psychological health is not significantly directly associated with victimization by students and student maltreatment by teachers; however, student psychological health is indirectly associated with victimization by students, mediated through peer social support. Similar findings were found for both male and female and both Han Chinese and Indigenous students. Conclusion: The findings imply that peer social support plays an important mediating role between exposure to school violence and student psychological health. The findings provide empirical evidence and information to help school practitioners and policymakers justify developing or incorporating social support into prevention and intervention strategies. The findings suggest that interventions or policies promoting social support incorporated at a national level could be effective across genders and ethnicities in Taiwan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: This paper reports on the prevalence of student victimization by teachers in junior high schools in a Chinese cultural context (Taiwan) and examines how student demographic variables (gender, grade level, and family socioeconomic status) and school social experiences (student–teacher relationships and involvement with at-risk peers) are associated with such victimization. Methods: Data were obtained from a large-scale random sample of 1,376 junior-high students (grades 7–9) in the city of Taichung, Taiwan. Students were given an anonymous structured questionnaire, including items regarding basic demographics and school social experiences. Results: Overall, 26.9% of students reported having been maltreated by teachers at least 1 time in the previous semester. Hitting, beating, or slapping was the most common maltreatment, and the most vulnerable students were boys and senior students. Students who perceived that student–teacher relationships were poor, and those who were involved with at-risk peers, were more likely to report victimization. Conclusion: Although there are clear guidelines and regulations prohibiting teacher aggression against students, Taiwanese students are still exposed to high levels of maltreatment. The findings provide empirical evidence to support school social workers and policymakers in taking immediate action to educate politicians, the general public, and the media about the severity of student victimization by teachers as well as to build up mechanisms to supervise the government's enforcement of regulation. These findings clearly imply that promoting positive social experiences for students is crucial for successful intervention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated the performance of prosodic sensitivity among Chinese students from nine to fifteen years as well as its contribution to reading comprehension. For this study, we recruited 181 Chinese children with typical development from 9 to 15 years in Taiwan. Fifty-five were 9–10 years, 53 were 11–12 years, and the other 62 were 13–15 years. They were tested for prosodic sensitivity, phonological processing, Chinese character reading, and reading comprehension. Our results indicated clear age differences in two prosodic sensitivities: – the youngest group performed significantly worse than the other two groups. Additionally, our results showed that prosodic sensitivity significantly contributed to reading comprehension for only the two older groups. Theoretically, our results shed light on the role of prosodic sensitivity, especially above the character level, in Chinese reading comprehension. Teachers and instructors should consider prosodic sensitivity when preparing interventions for reading comprehension. • Chinese students develop prosodic sensitivity from 9 to 10 years old. • There are bigger age differences in most phonological processing than in prosodic sensitivity. • Prosodic sensitivity was found to contribute to reading from 11 to 15 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]