Atopic dermatitis (AD) imposes significant physical and psychosocial burdens on affected children. However, little has been done to learn from the subjective experiences, perspectives and emotions of children living with AD. Their voices are not heard in healthcare settings. This study aims to share these children's voices and provide a deep understanding of the subjective experiences of children living with AD. We conducted qualitative research by conducting semi‐structured interviews and analysing the drawings of 17 children in Hong Kong aged between 8 and 12 years who were diagnosed with AD. Using a phenomenological approach, we transcribed, coded and described the interviews. We found that for the children in this study, living with AD meant contending with an accumulation of challenges and crises. At the individual level, the essential experience of living with AD manifested a vicious cycle of skin and mental issues. At the family level, conflicts between children and parents concerning AD management coexisted with parental support. The children commonly experienced bullying and isolation in school and discrimination and stigmatisation in their neighbourhood, thereby making living with AD a traumatic experience. The synergy between individual and environmental factors contributed to shaping an incapable and wounded “self” living with AD. Based on our findings, we propose a child‐centred biopsychosocial framework for understanding the living experiences of children with AD. This study suggests different practice strategies for healthcare professionals working with the individual challenges experienced by children living with AD and the challenges these children experience in their family, school, and neighbourhood. The needs of these children should be addressed through an integrated, holistic approach for improving their long‐term health outcomes.

Background: Parent‒child communication in migrant families is essential to family bonds and the mental health of left-behind children (LBC). Little is known about the different patterns of communication between migrant parents and LBC and associated communication quality and mental health outcomes. Methods: A sample of 2,183 Chinese children (mean age = 12.95 ± 1.29 years) from Anhui province, including LBC whose parents had both migrated (n = 1,025) and children whose parents had never migrated (never-LBC, n = 1,158), was analyzed. With the LBC sample, latent class analysis was applied to identify the patterns of parent‒child communication. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the associations between the sociodemographic variables and class membership of LBC. Analysis of covariance and chi-square tests were used to compare communication quality and mental health outcome differences among the classes of LBC and between each of the classes and never-LBC. Results: Five latent classes of communication formed through different media or channels between migrant parents and their LBC were identified. Higher household economic status (OR = 2.81, p < 0.05) was associated with adequate communication. LBC in Class 1, defined by frequent technologically-mediated and face-to-face communication, had a significantly higher quality of communication with their migrant parents (F = 8.92, p < 0.001) and better mental health than those in other latent classes; these children did not have significantly worse mental health outcomes compared to never -LBC. Conclusions: Facilitating multichannel parent‒child communication is a practical way of reducing mental health inequities between LBC and their peers.

Adolescent mental health is a global public health concern and parental migration has been identified as a risk factor. However, the effect mechanism remained unclear. A total of 2,737 participants (mean = 11.93, SD = 1.23) were recruited from twelve schools in migrant-sending areas in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. The participants responded to items in Child Depression Inventory, Parent–Adolescent Communication Scale, Olweus Bully or Victim Questionnaire and socio-demographic questions. Serial multiple mediation models were analysed using the bootstrapping method. Current and previous left-behind (LB) experience were significantly associated with higher risks of depression, non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation (p < 0.05). Mother–adolescent communication and school bullying victimisation, in serial order, mediated the effect of current LB status on mental health (p < 0.05). In terms of previously LB adolescents, parent–adolescent communication was a standalone mediator (p < 0.01) and the serial mediation effect of parent–adolescent communication and school bullying victimisation was significant. Lack of parent–adolescent communication and school bullying victimisation acted as risk factors for the negative effect of LB status or experience on adolescent mental health. The importance of these two interpersonal factors motivates future intervention initiatives to support the mental health of LB adolescents from an integrated perspective.

Objectives: Parents are often torn between their parenting roles in the family and working roles at the workplace. This study focused on the associations of parental employment with children’s screen time (ST) on weekdays, weekends, and during the entire week.Methods: Unbalanced panel data including 2,977 children (aged 0–17 years) from five waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey data from 2004 to 2015 were utilized. Two-way fixed effects models were fitted to examine the associations of parental employment status, working hours, and overwork with children’s ST.Results: Compared to unemployment status, maternal formal employment positively predicted children’s ST on both weekdays and weekends, while maternal informal employment was associated with increased children’s ST on weekends. The more hours they worked, the more time their children spent using screens. Neither employment status nor the overwork of fathers was significant.Conclusion: Parental employment, especially maternal employment, was linked with the ST of children. More childcare-friendly labor policies are needed to promote healthy lifestyles among the next generation.

Background: Parents are significantly important in shaping the screen use of children within a family system. This study aimed to examine the associations of Chinese children’s screen time (ST) over four years with parents’ attitudes toward their own screen use and physical activities (PA) and health behaviors including their ST, PA, cigarette smoking, and alcohol drinking. Methods: The current study utilized data from two waves (2011 and 2015) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), including 1,941 mother-father-child triads in 2011 and 2,707 mother-father-child triads in 2015 (with children aged 0-17-years-old). The ST of children and the parental attitudes and health behaviors were measured via self-report or proxy-report (for children under 6 years old) questionnaires. Pool-OLS regression models were used to assess the associations of parental attitudes and health behaviors with the ST of children. Moderation models were built to assess whether these associations depended on the gender, age, and family income of children, as well as whether paternal and maternal influences were moderated by the other parent. A multilevel cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) was used to assess parental influences on children’s ST over four years. Results: Paternal ST (β = 0.09, p < 0.001), maternal ST (β = 0.10, p < 0.001), and paternal alcohol drinking (β = 0.30, p < 0.05) were positively associated with children’s ST. In addition, maternal smoking had a positive association with girls’ ST (β = 0.53, p < 0.05). Moreover, the association between maternal ST and children’s ST was observed to decline as family income increased (β = -0.03, p < 0.001). Paternal ST had a larger positive association with children’s ST when the ST of mothers exceeded 14 h/week (β = 0.06, p < 0.05). Furthermore, lagged associations were found between paternal attitudes toward PA (β = -1.63, p < 0.05) or maternal cigarette smoking (β = 1.46, p < 0.05) and children’s ST measured four years later. Conclusion: Children establish a healthy lifestyle within the family system. From the perspective of the healthy family climate, the current study suggests that future programs for reducing children’s ST should be built through an integrative approach with special attention to parental attitudes and health behaviors.