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This study aimed to examine whether adolescents select friends based on their friends' levels of depressive symptoms, and to determine whether the potential homophily phenomenon for depressive symptoms is attenuated after considering pubertal maturation and gender. Data were from the first three waves of the Taiwan Youth Project, a longitudinal study that annually surveys 7.sup.th graders from 40 junior high schools. Participants were asked at each wave to fill out a survey including depressive symptoms, pubertal maturation, and to name three best friends in school. Stochastic actor-oriented models were built to explore the dynamic changes in friendship networks by estimating the probability of the friendship connections and behavioral changes depending on the individual's current network position and behavioral status. We used a sample of 2,336 adolescents. From 8 to 9.sup.th grade, adolescents tended to select friends who were similar in terms of their levels of depressive symptoms (B = 0.358, SE = 0.131, p < .001), without adjusting for gender and pubertal maturation. This homophily effect based on depressive symptoms became non-significant when pubertal maturation was included. Adolescents' depressive symptoms did not further influence their friends' depression levels, after controlling for pubertal maturation and gender. Future studies should further examine the mechanisms and group dynamics within clusters of adolescents who are depressed. Providing a supportive environment and tools is warranted to help adolescents cope with negative emotions within their peer group., Author(s): Yi-Fang Yu [sup.1] , Te-Tien Ting [sup.2] , Jay Chiehen Liao [sup.3] , Meng-Che Tsai [sup.4] , Chung-Ying Lin [sup.5] , Yi-Ping Hsieh [sup.6] , Carol Strong [sup.1] Author [...]

The current study aims to clarify the associations as well as the pathways through which parenting and children's emotional intelligence (EI) may influence children's mental health with a cross-sectional sample of 675 school pupils (fourth grade, mean age = 10.4 years, 310 boy, 356 girls and 9 unidentified) in Taiwan. Hierarchical regression and path analyses were used to examine the relationships between parenting styles, children's trait EI, and their psychological symptoms, with children's psychological symptoms as the dependent variable. The results showed that authoritative parenting was positively associated with children's trait EI, which in turn had a negative effect on children's psychological symptoms, whereas authoritarian and Chinese-specific parenting styles had direct negative effect on children's psychological symptoms. These findings shed light on the pathways of the interrelations between different parenting styles, children's trait EI, and psychological symptoms, providing theoretical as well as practical implications for children's emotional development and mental health.

This study examines three parenting behaviors (support, involvement, and harsh control) in predicting children's loneliness and aggression across developmental transitions to adolescence in a Taiwanese sample. Two cohorts (n = 4,990) were followed for 5 years: a younger cohort (first-graders, 51.5%) and an older cohort (fourth-graders). Multilevel modeling for change across time was used to examine the baseline and rate of change of child outcomes. Overall, loneliness decreased and aggression increased across time. Maternal involvement predicted less loneliness at the baseline and a faster decreasing rate of loneliness. Harsh control predicted more aggression and support predicted less aggression at the baseline. Girls showed a faster increasing rate of aggression and slower declining rate of loneliness than boys. The findings highlight the need to identify effective parenting behaviors for loneliness and aggression with acknowledgment of cultural beliefs, and address girls' aggression. Implications for prevention/intervention in children's social functioning problems were discussed.

This study aims to examine the associations between child maltreatment (physical and psychological neglect and abuse), dysfunctional family environment (inter-parental violence, parental substance abuse), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and children's bullying perpetration, and the potential mediating effect of PTSD in the associations. We collected data using a self-report questionnaire with a nation-wide, proportionately stratified random sample of 6233 fourth-grade students in Taiwan. We performed hierarchical regression analysis and mediation analysis to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that parental substance abuse, physical and psychological neglect, physical and psychological abuse, witness of inter-parental violence, and PTSD are positively associated with child bullying (p < .001), after controlling for gender. These variables, referred to as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), explain 23% of the variance, and the results are statistically significant. PTSD fully mediated the relationship between psychological neglect and child bullying and partially mediated the associations between other ACE variables and child bullying. Children with higher levels of bullying perpetration reported more family violence and neglect at home and parental substance abuse problems. These ACEs also indirectly affect child bullying through PTSD. Among school-age children in Taiwan, children who had these adverse experiences were more likely to have PTSD symptoms, which in turn can lead to externalizing problems that increase the risk of exhibiting bullying perpetration toward others. In addition to behavioral modeling and corrections as strategies to combat bullying in schools, prevention and intervention efforts should address and screen for ACEs and tackle psychological problems., Author(s): Yi-Ping Hsieh [sup.1] , April Chiung-Tao Shen [sup.2] , Hsiao-Lin Hwa [sup.3] , Hsi-Sheng Wei [sup.4] , Jui-Ying Feng [sup.5] , Soar Ching-Yu Huang [sup.6] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.266862.e, [...]

This study employed a risk and resilience framework to investigate the influence of multidimensional factors, considering psychosocial and behavioral aspects, on online victimization among fifth-grade children (ages 10–11). Loneliness, online social currency disturbance, and digital citizenship were examined as predictors of online victimization. Data were collected from 196 students through a self-reported online survey conducted on electronic devices provided by the schools. The findings indicated that 78.6% of fifth-graders owned a smartphone, 70.9% had a gaming console, and the most common online activities were playing online gaming (73%), talking with friends (62.8%), and seeking entertainment (62.2%). Online victimization was prevalent, with 30.8% of children reporting they had been called bad names, 24.7% receiving rude comments, 15.9% expressing feelings of worry or threat due to online harassment, and 3.1% experiencing cyberbullying lasting for days. Furthermore, the results revealed a negative association between digital citizenship and online victimization, while loneliness and online social currency disturbance were positively associated with online victimization after accounting for children's gender and time spent online. In conclusion, this study suggests that efforts to prevent and address online victimization should prioritize promoting digital citizenship and increasing awareness of the roles of loneliness and social currency disturbances in online social dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with physical symptoms and diseases may be at an increased risk of peer victimization. This study examined the associations of several medical conditions (obesity, asthma, allergy, epilepsy, and diabetes) with experience of physical, verbal, and relational victimization among children. A sample of 6,233 fourth-grade students from 314 elementary schools in Taiwan was recruited for the analysis. The mean age of the sample was 10.5, with an even distribution of gender (50.3% male and 49.7% female). Children with asthma, allergy, and epilepsy reported higher frequencies of peer victimization. Those who took daily medications or received treatment were also at a higher risk of being victimized. Diabetes and obesity were not found to be associated with peer victimization. The findings highlighted that children with physical conditions suffer maltreatment from peers. Sensitivity training should be provided to school health professionals, so they can evaluate the risk of victimization among students with special needs during assessment.