Bullying is a widespread public health problem among school students. Using a large sample of Macanese school adolescents, the present study examines psychosocial conditions and demographic characteristics in discriminating the following four subgroups of students: victims; bullies; bully-victims; and a comparison group of adolescents. Participants included 2288 adolescents from 13 primary and secondary schools in Macau whose ages ranged from 10 to 20 years. Statistical results revealed significant differences among the groups and indicated that adolescents who are involved in school bullying experience worse psychosocial adjustment. Specifically, among the four subgroups of students, bully-victims reported the strongest feelings of anxiety, depression, and negative affectivity, and expressed the lowest satisfaction with life. Compared with students who were not involved in bullying and victimization, bullies experienced more anxiety and depression and victims had lower levels of satisfaction with life. In addition, boys were more likely to engage in bullying behaviors and younger students had a greater probability of being victimized by their peers at school. Implications for future research and practice on bullying perpetration and the prevention of peer victimization are discussed.

With its rapid economic growth and the increased influence of Western culture, China has become a drug-consuming country. Forty-six semistructured interviews were conducted in a compulsory drug treatment institution to document Chinese female drug users’ experiences with and attitudes toward two mandated treatment modalities: vocational training and educational activities. Detainees required to participate in first institutional treatment showed enthusiasm and had more positive attitudes; those who had entered the compulsory treatment facilities 2 or more times generally had a negative outlook on their pursuit of abstinence. Although female detainees achieved detoxification in the institution, many relapsed upon release to their community, indicating the institutional compulsory treatment model’s failure to ensure long-term abstinence. By revealing four main flaws of the current institutional compulsory treatment, this study indicates the need for a comprehensive treatment system that combines improvements to institutional treatment and development of community-based treatment to address different stages of abstinence.

Mindfulness-based interventions are found to have a positive effect on an individual’s mental health. Using a meta-analysis method, this study examined the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on alleviating anxiety among Chinese college students. Using six international and two Chinese electronic databases, we comprehensively researched literature published between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2021. The literature was then carefully selected and classified. The literature selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were all independently conducted by two members of the research team; any disagreements were resolved through consultation with a third researcher. A total of 11 original articles met all the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that mindfulness-based interventions have a positive effect on the remission of anxiety among Chinese college students. This confirms the need to generalize mindfulness-based interventions as a form of treatment and prevention for anxiety among Chinese college students.

Drug use in China is both associated with criminal behaviour and regarded as social deviance. Drug addicted offenders can either be assigned criminal punishment or compulsory drug treatment, depending on the severity of the crimes they have committed. Compulsory drug treatment is in many ways similar to imprisonment in China. However, both compulsory drug treatment and imprisonment fail to prevent drug relapse. The authorities have implemented methadone maintenance treatment and non-medical social work interventions, although they are still in their infancy. More efforts should be made to deliver post-institutionalization programmes to help ex-inmates stay away from drugs and crime.

Introduction: School bullying is a serious social and public health problem. This article aims to explore the association between experiences of childhood abuse and involvement in school bullying, especially considering the mediating effects of depression. Methods: The sample of this study was 3059 students (1584 males and 1475 females) aged from 12 to 20, in eleven Chinese secondary schools, which included six middle schools, four high schools, and one vocational high school in both urban and rural areas. The multinomial logit regression and linear regression were conducted by the two gender groups, to determine the mediating effect of depression in the association between child abuse experiences and involvement in school bullying. Results: This study indicated that female students were less likely to be involved in school bullying. Male students were more represented in the bully-victim group and experienced more physical and mental abuse during childhood. Depression was a mediator between childhood abuse and involvement in school bullying. Nevertheless, there was a gender difference in that depression fully mediated the relationship between the two variables among female students, while it only partially meditated such a relationship for male students. Conclusions: These findings indicate that more school-based service interventions and evidence-based research are needed to more thoroughly investigate school bullying and its predictors in China.