Problematic internet use in Chinese rural adolescents and its association with adverse life experiences and resilience: A nationwide cross-sectional study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Kang ◽  
Hongjuan Chang ◽  
Shanshan Yuan ◽  
Jingjing Xiang ◽  
Yizhen Yu

BACKGROUND Problematic internet use (PIU) is a growing public health and social issue among adolescents, however, its prevalence in rural adolescents remains to be investigated. Adverse life experiences (ALEs) and resilience have been reported to be important influence factors of PIU, but little is known about the interaction effects of ALEs and resilience on PIU, or gender differences in these effects. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to provide the first prevalence report of PIU in Chinese rural adolescents based on a nationwide sample, and to examine the association among ALEs, resilience and PIU, as well as the gender difference within these relationships. METHODS A school-based survey was conducted in rural areas from five provinces in China in 2014-2015. A total of 15950 students aged 11-22 years finished a complete self-report questionnaire, including demographic characteristics, measurements of PIU, stressful life events, child neglect and maltreatment, and resilience. ALEs were defined as having experienced stressful life events and/or child neglect and maltreatment. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used. RESULTS There were 2734 adolescents assessed with PIU in our sample, with a prevalence rate of 17.1%. Multiple adjusted odds ratios for PIU was significantly increased with higher ALEs scores (5-6: OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.11-1.48; 7-8: OR=1.66, 95% CI=1.43-1.92) and significantly decreased with higher resilience level (Mild: OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.74-0.93; Moderate: OR=0.68, 95% CI=0.60-0.77; High: OR=0.59; 95% CI=0.52-0.67). Moderate resilience had significantly protective effect on PIU in adolescents with high ALEs scores (OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.41-0.97). A significant interaction effect was found between ALEs and resilience on PIU only in girls (P=0.021) but not in boys (P=0.081), however, this gender difference showed no significance (P=0.305). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests a relative high prevalence of PIU among Chinese rural adolescents. More ALEs and lower resilience are associated with higher risk for PIU, and resilience can moderate the association between ALEs and PIU. Strategies combining ALEs prevention and resilience promotion both in girls and boys would yield better to decrease PIU problems in adolescents.

2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Lewinsohn ◽  
Paul Rohde ◽  
Jeffrey M. Gau

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incremental value of conducting an interview to assess stressful life events over the self-report questionnaire approach, first by examining the degree to which life events reported on a questionnaire met inclusion criteria in a detailed stress interview, and second, by comparing the magnitude of prospective associations with depression symptoms for the two different assessment procedures. Data from the Oregon Adolescent Depression Project were examined, in which 191 community-residing young adults (55% female; M age = 23.6, SD = 0.6) completed a mailed questionnaire assessing the frequency with which 33 life events had occurred to them or to other important people in their lives prior to the diagnostic and stress interviews. An average of 67.5% of events occurring to self met criteria for classification as a life event on the stress interview, as did 19.7% of the events occurring to others. Events having a large effect on the participant had a greater likelihood of meeting inclusion criteria on the stress interview. Contrary to expectation, stress scores from the interview assessment did not result in stronger associations with depression. Recommendations for assessment of stressful life events are offered.


1985 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Tolor ◽  
Vincent M. Murphy

The High School Social Readjustment Scale, a measure of stressful life events, and the center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, a short self-report scale measuring depressive symptomatologies, were administered twice to 285 high school students over a 6-mo. interval. Both measures were statistically reliable. On both test administrations girls, but not boys, displayed a significant relationship between stress and depression.


1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Little ◽  
Judy Garber

AbstractThis short-term prospective study examined the contribution of aggression and depression, stressful life events, and their interactions to the prediction of peer rejection. Subjects were 497 fifth- and sixth-grade children who completed questionnaires at two time points separated by approximately 3 months. Levels of peer rejection and aggression were assessed by peer nominations; level of depressive symptoms and number of stressful life events were measured by self-report questionnaires. Controlling for sex and baseline level of peer rejection, aggression directly predicted peer rejection. In contrast, depressive symptoms interacted with life stress to predict peer rejection. Examination of the Depression × Stress interaction revealed that depressive symptoms in children who had experienced high levels of life stress were not associated with increased levels of peer rejection, whereas depressive symptoms in children with low levels of stress were predictive of subsequent peer rejection. Several interpretations of these findings and directions for future research are suggested.


Author(s):  
Yi Shan Wong ◽  
Nor Sheereen Zulkefly ◽  
Kit-Aun Tan

AbstractObjectivesThe present study aimed to examine the mediational role of maladaptive cognitive schema in the association between stressful life events, which are operationalised as major (i. e. negative life events) and minor (i. e. daily hassles) life stressors, and depressive symptoms among adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional correlational study was conducted to recruit participants across four selected states of Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka and Selangor in Peninsular Malaysia. This study involved a total of 1,032 adolescents from 25 government secondary schools, identified using probability proportional to size cluster sampling technique. Data were collected through a self-report questionnaire.ResultsUsing structural equation modelling analyses, findings revealed a full mediation effect of maladaptive cognitive schema between negative life events and depressive symptoms, and a partial mediation effect between daily hassles and depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThis study provided valuable insights about the significance of maladaptive cognitive schema as a mediator in the stress-depression association and advanced the understanding of mechanism underlying development of depressive symptoms among adolescents in Malaysia. Findings also benefit the clinical practice in the development of targeted depression prevention and intervention programs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 1548-1555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon L. Goldstein ◽  
Ellen M. Kessel ◽  
Autumn Kujawa ◽  
Megan C. Finsaas ◽  
Joanne Davila ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundReward processing deficits have been implicated in the etiology of depression. A blunted reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential elicited by feedback to monetary gain relative to loss, predicts new onsets and increases in depression symptoms. Etiological models of depression also highlight stressful life events. However, no studies have examined whether stressful life events moderate the effect of the RewP on subsequent depression symptoms. We examined this question during the key developmental transition from childhood to adolescence.MethodsA community sample of 369 children (mean age of 9) completed a self-report measure of depression symptoms. The RewP to winning v. losing was elicited using a monetary reward task. Three years later, we assessed stressful life events occurring in the year prior to the follow-up. Youth depressive symptoms were rated by the children and their parents at baseline and follow-up.ResultsStressful life events moderated the effect of the RewP on depression symptoms at follow-up such that a blunted RewP predicted higher depression symptoms in individuals with higher levels of stressful life events. This effect was also evident when events that were independent of the youth's behavior were examined separately.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the RewP reflects a vulnerability for depression that is activated by stress.


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