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The present study tested the mediating role of maladaptive emotion regulation and trust in parents between parent–child conflict and emerging adults' depressive symptoms. A total of 196 Chinese emerging adults at 18–25 years of age (M = 20.02; SD = 2.67; 43.88% women) completed an online self-reported questionnaire on parent–child conflict, trust in parents, emotion regulation, and depressive symptoms. Path analyses were conducted to analyze the cross-sectional data. Findings suggested that parent–child conflict was associated with greater maladaptive emotion regulation and depressive symptoms. Mother–child conflict was associated with emerging adults' lower trust in mothers. Also, trust in fathers was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Regardless of the parents' gender, maladaptive emotion regulation and trust did not mediate the relation between parent–child conflict and depressive symptoms. Despite the null findings of the mediation processes, the study advanced our knowledge about the role of family processes in emerging adults' depressive symptoms, particularly in the Chinese context. The findings informed practitioners and researchers aiming to foster positive family functioning and reduce depressive symptoms among emerging adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study tested the mediating role of perceived capability of savoring positive experiences in the associations between family functioning and emerging adults' psychological outcomes, namely, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. A sample of 167 Chinese emerging adults (112 female) were recruited from two major universities in Hong Kong. Participants were asked to complete a set of self-reported questionnaires. Findings based on structural equation modeling indicated that family functioning and savoring positive experiences were associated with emerging adults' depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Results from bootstrapping further suggested savoring positive experiences as a partial mediator between family functioning and depressive symptoms. These findings enriched the literature by suggesting family dynamics and savoring positive experiences as important correlates of psychological outcomes in the Chinese context. Contributions of these findings to the understanding of psychological functioning in emerging adulthood are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study tested the mediating role of adolescents’ emotional intelligence for the effects of family risks on adolescent adjustment in two Chinese settings, namely Hong Kong and Macau. A total of 804 Chinese adolescents (36.3% female) in Hong Kong (n = 441) and Macau (n = 363) completed a set of self-reported questionnaires. Findings based on path analysis suggested that economic stress was positively associated with family conflict. In addition, family risks including economic stress and family conflict were inversely associated with adolescents’ emotional intelligence and prosocial behaviors, and positively associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems. Bootstrapping supported emotional intelligence as a mediating mechanism between family risks and adolescent adjustment, as indexed by their prosocial behaviors, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Multi-group path analysis further demonstrated gender similarities in the risk and protective processes underlying adolescent adjustment. Extending the findings based on studies conducted in Western contexts, the present research indicated the detrimental effects of family stressors, including economic stress and family conflict, on adolescent functioning in Hong Kong and Macau. Findings contributed to the growing literature that delineates risk and protective processes underlying adjustment outcomes in Chinese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded in a conceptual model of family processes underlying socioemotional development and a contextual model of parenting style, the present study addresses the associations between parenting practices, mothers’ emotion socialization, and child adjustment in middle childhood. A total of 217 families involving mothers, fathers, and 8-year-old children (101 boys, 116 girls) were recruited to participate in this study. Findings suggested that fathers’ inconsistent discipline and positive parenting practices predicted greater and fewer children’s adjustment problems, respectively, over and above the effect of mothers’ parenting practices. Mothers’ emotion discussion with children predicted children’s lower externalizing problems. Mothers’ emotion discussion further buffered the association between mothers’ inconsistent discipline and children’s internalizing problems, such that children exhibited fewer internalizing problems when mothers engaged in moderate to high levels of emotion discussion with children. Supporting family systems theory, both mothers’ and fathers’ parenting processes contributed to child development. These findings add to the literature by providing evidence for cumulative family asset and risk underlying child adjustment. Based on the findings, scholars and practitioners may consider adding more emotion-based components of parenting to existing interventions that focus on parenting discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing population of Mainland Chinese students at the local government-funded universities in Hong Kong, little is known about their acculturation experiences and psychosocial adjustment. Drawing on an acculturation framework (Berry, 2003) and theories of coping (Folkman, 1984), resilience (Masten, 2001), and socioecological processes (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006), this article provides an in-depth account of acculturative stress and coping behaviors experienced by Mainland Chinese university students in Hong Kong. Using qualitative research methods, we conducted seven focus groups with a total of 32 Mainland Chinese students from a public university in Hong Kong over a 3-month period. Analytic strategy included identifying the unit of analysis, coding, sorting code, checking code, and creating salient themes. Findings suggested that Mainland Chinese university students faced acculturative stress stemming from "language barriers," "prejudice and discrimination," "cultural differences," and "transport, food, and accommodation." The study also found that the participants used a number of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies in the face of acculturative stress. As an extension of this research, future studies should examine the subtle difference between a subculture (Hong Kong) and its mother culture (Mainland China) and how that affects acculturative stress. Implications of these findings are discussed at the levels of theory, policy, and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is a unique developmental period marked with significant changes and challenges. As such, maintaining optimal psychological adjustment is crucial for young people, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when their adjustment became more challenging. Self-control is a vital ability assisting individuals to navigate difficulties and stay well-adjusted during turbulent times. While the associations between adolescent self-control and adjustment have been well-documented, parental self-control has been considered to play a more fundamental role in adolescent adjustment. However, this consideration has received scant research. Drawing on the intergenerational transmission model of self-regulation, we examined an understudied yet plausible idea that parental self-control facilitates adolescent adjustment through parents' lower levels of perceived stress/better mindful parenting and adolescents' improved self-control. A two-wave survey study, spanning 1 year apart, was conducted among 426 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 11.6 years, 53.5% boys) and their parents. Parents rated their self-control, perceived stress, and mindful parenting at T1, while adolescents rated their self-control and adjustment (i.e., psychological difficulties and life satisfaction) at T1 and T2. The results of chain mediation model showed that after controlling for demographic covariates and baseline levels of adolescent self-control and adjustment, T1 paternal self-control facilitated T2 adolescent adjustment through fathers' lower levels of perceived stress and adolescents' improved self-control. By contrast, T1 maternal self-control facilitated T2 adolescent adjustment through mothers' better mindful parenting and adolescents' improved self-control. These findings advance our understanding of how self-control is transmitted from parents to offspring and clarify the processes of how parental self-control facilitates adolescent adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an ecologically informed, developmental psychopathology perspective, the present study examined contextual and intrapersonal predictors of depressive symptoms and externalizing problems among Korean American adolescents. Specifically, the role of cultural context (self-construals), family processes (family cohesion and conflict), and anger regulation (anger control, anger suppression, and outward anger expression) were examined. Study participants were N = 166 Korean American adolescents ranging from 11 to 15 years old ( M = 13.0, SD = 1.2). Results showed that depressive symptoms were significantly associated with lower levels of perceived family cohesion, higher levels of perceived family conflict intensity, and higher levels of anger suppression. Externalizing problems were associated with male gender, a weaker interdependent self-construal, higher levels of perceived family conflict, lower levels of anger control, and higher levels of outward anger expression. The distinction between specific versus common factors associated with depressive symptoms and externalizing problems was discussed with an eye toward prevention or intervention strategies targeting specific coping mechanisms (e.g., generating alternatives to anger suppression) or developing psychoeducational approaches to facilitate family processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]