Introduction: Perceived social-emotional competence (PSEC) has been identified as a critical factor influencing adolescent mental health. However, limited research has explored the underlying mechanisms linking PSEC to both psychological distress and subjective well-being. Methods: This longitudinal study investigated the associations among PSEC, psychological distress, and subjective well-being, as well as the potential mediating roles of peer relationships and teacher-student relationships. A sample of 452 adolescents (aged 16– 19 years) participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the hypothesized mediation pathways. Results: Correlational analyses showed significant associations among PSEC, subjective well-being, psychological distress, peer relationships, and teacher-student relationships. Longitudinal mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between PSEC and psychological distress was fully mediated by peer relationships. In contrast, the effects of PSEC on subjective well-being were explained by both direct effects and the mediating roles of peer and teacher-student relationships. Discussion: These findings underscore the importance of supportive interpersonal relationships in adolescent mental health. The results suggest that enhancing peer and teacher-student relationships may be a valuable target for interventions aimed at strengthening the positive impact of PSEC.

Introduction: Childhood maltreatment represents a widespread global public health issue that is closely linked to a variety of emotional symptoms, such as depression and anxiety. Considering these symptoms are often linked to common problems in emotional functioning, this study aimed to examine the patterns of childhood maltreatment and their association with three core aspects of emotional functioning: emotional reactivity, alexithymia, and emotion regulation. Methods: In total, 945 Chinese college students (mean age: 21.53 ± 1.15 years) completed the Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form, Perth Emotional Reactivity Scale, Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire, and Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory. Results: The latent profile analysis identified three optimal classes of childhood maltreatment: low childhood maltreatment (77.35%), predominantly neglect (13.02%), and high childhood maltreatment (9.63%) patterns fitted the data best. The regression mixed model results showed that both the predominantly neglect and high childhood maltreatment classes demonstrated comparable deficits in negative emotion regulation and alexithymia, as well as in positive emotional reactivity. However, the predominantly neglect class exhibited more pronounced impairments in negative emotional reactivity compared to high childhood maltreatment class, while the high childhood maltreatment class demonstrated more severe impairments in positive emotion regulation and alexithymia than the predominantly neglect class. Conclusion: The present results help clarify the specific associations between distinct childhood maltreatment patterns and emotional functioning, indicating the necessity of developing targeted intervention strategies for individuals with different childhood maltreatment patterns in the future. Additionally, it offers guidance for early childhood education. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to investigate the impact of various patterns of childhood maltreatment on the developmental trajectory of emotional functioning. Additionally, it is essential to consider the sensitive periods during which childhood maltreatment influences emotional functioning.

Background: Autistic traits (ATs) and social anxiety (SA) are closely associated; however, few studies have investigated the potential mediating mechanism of this relationship using longitudinal data. This study examined: (1) the developmental trajectories of ATs, rumination, and SA among college students; (2) whether the baseline levels of ATs predicted the developmental trajectories of SA; and (3) whether the trajectories of rumination mediated this longitudinal association. Methods: This study enrolled 397 college students to complete Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire, Discriminative Response Scale, and SA Disorder Dimension three times over the course of a year. Three unconditional latent growth models (LGMs) were first used to explore the trajectories of ATs, rumination, and SA, respectively. Then, a conditional LGM was used to examine the direct longitudinal association between ATs and SA. Finally, a structural equation model was further used to examine the longitudinal mediating role of rumination between ATs and SA. Results: For college students, ATs remained relatively stable, whereas rumination and SA declined across the study period. Furthermore, ATs positively predicted the intercept of SA ( β = 0.66, p < 0.001), and negatively predicted the slope of SA ( β = −0.29, p < 0.001). More importantly, higher baseline levels of rumination mediated ATs on the baseline value of SA (0.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.08 0.22]), and slower rates of decline of rumination mediated ATs on the change in SA (−0.15, 95% CI [−0.46 −0.01]). Conclusions: These results indicate that college is a critical period for the abatement of rumination and SA. Furthermore, rumination might be one of the mechanisms underlying the link between ATs and SA. Interventions to prevent the negative impact of ATs might help to decrease the risk of rumination and SA in the college students.

The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) evaluates an individual's capacity to regulate their positive and negative emotions. To support future cross-cultural studies on emotion regulation, a Chinese version of PERCI was created and its psychometric properties and measurement invariance among different time points, genders, and educational levels were examined in 870 college students. The study employed confirmatory factor analysis to test the seven models from the original research and used multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to examine the measurement equivalence of the Chinese version of PERCI across different genders, time points, and educational levels. Additionally, construct validity was assessed through the correlations with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS). The three-order eight-factor model of the Chinese version was similar to the factor structure of the original version. The Chinese version exhibited good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Additionally, significant relationships were observed between the total scores and the scores of different subdimensions of PERCI, DASS-21, DERS, and TEPS. According to the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, the measurement invariance of PERCI was good across educational levels, time points, and genders. These findings are discussed within the context of relevant literature. The Chinese version of PERCI demonstrates good reliability and validity, making it a suitable measurement tool for assessing the emotion regulation abilities of college students in China.