Children’ Stress, Depression, Sleep, and Internet Use

This study examines the connections between children’s sleep, stress, depression, and internet use. Parents believe that sleep effectively reduces children’s stress, while children instead insist that internet use is effective for reducing their stress. Based on that argument, this study has three purposes: to examine whether sleep or internet use is more effective at reducing children's stress, examine whether stress is related to depression, and examine whether sleep affects depression through children's stress as a mediating factor. To this end, this study gathered a sample of 1,796 children from 32 elementary schools—all fourth- to sixth-graders who volunteered to take the survey—and measured their stress level, depression level, sleep hours, and hours of internet use. The Daily Stress Scale of Korean Children, Korean Child Depression Scale, hours of sleep on average per day (sleep), and hours of using electronic devices per day (internet use) were used as the measurements. Regarding the statistical analysis methods used in this study, linear regression was used to examine the regression effect of both sleep and internet use on stress and the regression effect of stress on depression. Path analysis, one of the structural equation models, was also used to find direct, indirect, and mediating effects between variables. The study results show that (i) sleep, not internet usage, effectively relieves children’s stress; (ii) stress is an important influence on depression; and (iii) sufficient sleep reduces stress, which reduces depression. It is recommended that future studies consider the quality of sleep and quantity of sleep for more valid data analysis and carry out follow-up research with wider age groups.

Problem Behaviors of Children from Multicultural and Mono-cultural Families in Korea: Differences in Behavior Evaluations between Parents and Teachers

In recent years, multicultural families are increasing in Korea. In such multicultural families, there may be language and interpersonal difficulties that affect the children. Given the possibility of real problems affecting academics and the potential for bias, the perceptions of parents and teachers is of vital importance. In this study, parents' and teachers’evaluations of problem behaviors of 405 elementary school students were collected on the Korean Child Behavior Checklist and the Korean Teacher's Report Form. Studies have shown that parents in multicultural families tend to rate their children's problems more seriously than in mono cultural families in the areas of Withdrawal/Depressed, Attention Problems, and Rule-Breaking Behaviors.Teachers rated boys from multicultural families as more problematic with Withdrawal/Depressed, Attention Problems, Rule-Breaking Behaviors, and overall scores than boys from monocultural families. Parents tended to take their child's problematic behaviors more seriously than teachers.In general, younger students were found to be more vulnerable to behavioral problems. This may indicate that an intervention is needed to help the children acculturate.

The Structural Relationship between Exercise Frequency, Social Health, and Happiness in Adolescents

The aim of this study was to verify the relations between exercise frequency, social relationships, sense of community, and subjective happiness among adolescents. The data analysed in the study were from the 11th Korean Child–Adolescent Happiness Index conducted by the Korean Bang Jeong Hwan Foundation in 2019. The data consisted of questionnaire responses from 5094 middle-school and high-school students. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, model validity and fit analysis, path analysis, and effects analysis. The results showed that exercise frequency was associated with social relationships, sense of community, and subjective happiness in adolescents, and a comprehensive examination of relations between exercise frequency, a part of social relationships, sense of community, and subjective happiness was confirmed. It can be concluded that adolescents who participate in frequent exercise become more socially adept, which could in turn make them happier. Policymakers and stakeholders, including educational institutions and parents, should therefore promote adolescent participation in exercise and sports.