Who will turn to chatbots for emotional disclosure? This research contributes to ongoing scientific efforts to understand chatbot usage behaviors among adolescents. Specifically, we examined the relationships between self-disclosure to chatbots and levels of self-compassion and existential meaninglessness, as well as whether gender and culture moderate these preferences. A cross-cultural survey study was conducted to pursue this goal. A total sample of 2272 adolescents (M age = 15.53 years) from the United States and Hong Kong was collected. A major finding was that the preference for self-disclosure with chatbots was positively correlated with levels of self-compassion and negatively correlated with levels of existential meaninglessness. These correlations were moderated by gender and culture. The results also indicated that adolescents who exclusively self-disclose to chatbots may experience a higher level of existential meaninglessness. These new findings present opportunities for future studies that will enhance our understanding of the relationship among self-disclosure to chatbots, self-compassion and existential meaninglessness.

This study explores the mediating role of self-regulation in the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms among adolescents, considering the moderating effects of gender and region. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with 3984 adolescents aged 12–18 from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. Data were collected via an online survey administered through Qualtrics. The survey included validated measures such as the Illinois Bullying Scale (IBS) to measure bullying victimization, the Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI) to measure self-regulation, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) to measure depression. The SPSS macro PROCESS was employed for data analysis, with model 4 used for testing the mediating effects of self-regulation and model 1 for assessing the moderating effects of gender and region. The results demonstrated significant associations between bullying victimization, self-regulation, and depressive symptoms. Self-regulation mediated the positive association between bullying victimization and depression, with notable variations across genders and regions. Specifically, male students in Hong Kong exhibited an increased susceptibility to depression when subjected to bullying. These findings underscore the protective role of self-regulation in mitigating the adverse effects of bullying victimization on adolescent mental health. Implications for interventions and prevention strategies targeting adolescent depression are discussed.

Background. Social connections not only contribute to psychological and emotional well-being but also positively impact physical health, with social isolation and loneliness linked to early mortality and detrimental health outcomes. Objectives. This study aims to evaluate an online Awareness, Courage, and Love (ACL) group intervention designed to enhance social connectedness and subjective well-being while reducing loneliness, depression, and anxiety among older adults. Methods. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) will involve an intervention group receiving a 2 h ACL session via videoconferencing. Eligible participants selected after screening will be assigned randomly to either a treatment or waitlist-control group. Participants in both conditions will complete the assessments at three time points, including baseline, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up. Tools for assessing the concerned variables include the Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale, de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2) Scale, and World Health Organisation—Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Conclusions. This study will offer a robust framework for investigating the impact of the online ACL intervention on loneliness and social connectedness among Chinese older adults. The result of this study will reach theoretical, empirical, practical, and teaching significance on mental health care strategies for Chinese older adults.

Introduction Many people experience lifelong impacts after losing a loved one. Bereavement adaptation, which refers to how people adapt to changes after a death, is crucial for their subsequent life stages. Bereavement experienced during one’s childhood or teenage years can be even more challenging, considering the dual burden of bereavement adaptation and developmental tasks. However, no review identifies the risk or protective factors relating to such bereavement adaptation from a lifespan perspective. This review will thus unpack the factors that influence one’s long-term adaptation to the bereavement experienced during childhood. This review will identify the risk and protective factors affecting individual adaptation to bereavement experienced during childhood and adolescence within a four-domain framework: mental health, grief, developmental competence and others. Methods and analysis A systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted based on the search from 24 February to 31 October 2025 in six databases: PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE and Scopus. Only those studies that have specified the risk and protective factors for the bereavement adaptation of children and adolescents will be included. This protocol will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 statement. Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 statement, two independent reviewers will conduct the literature search, screening, inclusion and data extraction, and assess the risk of bias using the Risk of Bias 2 tool and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. A third reviewer will perform the meta-analysis based on the data extracted by the first two reviewers. The effect sizes will be re-examined for each risk factor in the meta-analysis. A random-effects model will be employed to account for variability among studies. Heterogeneity will be assessed, and subgroup analyses will be performed. All the findings will be reported following the PRISMA 2020 statement. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Only those studies with ethical approval will be included in this review. The results will be shared by being published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at academic conferences. PROSPERO registration number CRD420250641709.