The primary purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine, in a sample of Chinese children (initialMage = 8 years,N= 1,140), contributions of aggression to the development of social competence and academic achievement. Five waves of panel data on aggression and social and school performance were collected from peer evaluations, teacher ratings, and school records in Grades 2 to 5. Structural equation modeling revealed that aggression had unique effects on later social competence and academic achievement after their stabilities were controlled, particularly in the junior grades. Aggression also had significant indirect effects on social and academic outcomes through multiple pathways. Social competence and academic achievement contributed to the development of each other, but not aggression. The results indicate cascade effects of aggression in Chinese children from a developmental perspective.

This study examined how shyness–sensitivity and unsociability were associated with social, school, and psychological adjustment in Chinese children and adolescents. Participants included 564 children (272 boys, M_age=9 years) and 462 adolescents (246 boys, M_age=13 years) in a suburban region in China. Data were obtained from peer assessments, sociometric nominations, teacher-ratings, self-reports, and school records. The results showed that relations of shyness and unsociability with adjustment differed in middle childhood and early adolescence. Shyness tended to be associated with social and psychological problems more evidently in adolescence than in childhood. In contrast, unsociability was associated with problems more evidently across domains in childhood than in adolescence. The results indicate that the implications of the two main forms of social withdrawal may vary across developmental periods.

This study examined self- and group-orientations and their associations with social and psychological adjustment among children in urban and rural China. We expected that self-orientation would be more strongly associated with adjustment in urban children than in rural children whereas group-orientation would be more strongly associated with adjustment in rural children than in urban children. Data on self- and group-orientations and indexes of adjustment were collected for students in urban and rural elementary schools ( N = 990, M_age = 11 years) from multiple sources including teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. The results showed that self-orientation was positively associated with academic achievement (β = .27, t = 5.20, p < .001) and negatively associated with emotional problems (βs = −.12 to −.20, ts = −2.34 to −3.93, ps = .007 to < .001) in urban children; the associations were weaker or nonsignificant in rural children (βs = −.04 to .12, ts = −.83 to 2.54, ps = .405 to .011). Group-orientation was associated with social standing, academic achievement, and psychological well-being more strongly in rural children (βs = −.35 to .36, ts = −7.32 to 7.63, ps = .048 to < .001) than in urban children (βs = −.19 to .20, ts = −.3.75 to 3.77, ps = .432 to < .001). These results indicate different implications of self- and group-orientations for adjustment in urban and rural children in contemporary China.

This study examined the relations between parental migration and the adjustment of left-behind children and the mediating role of parental support in rural China. Data were collected for 4,429 students (2,229 boys, M age = 12 years) in public schools from peer evaluations, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. The analyses revealed different patterns of relations of mother migration and father migration to children’s adjustment. Whereas mother migration was negatively associated with children’s social competence and academic achievement and positively associated with children’s psychological problems, father migration was positively associated with children’s positive adjustment, mainly through the mediation of maternal support. The results concerning the different implications of father migration and mother migration for children’s adjustment and the critical role of maternal support represent a significant contribution to the understanding of human development in the contemporary rural Chinese context. The results are also useful for policy-makers and professionals to develop programs and strategies to help rural left-behind children in China.