Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019 has caused unprecedented disruption to the structure of children's daily lives due to school closures, online learning, strict social distancing measures, limited access to outdoor activities and many other restrictions. Since children are more susceptible to stress than adults and there is a growing concern about the potential debilitating consequences of COVID-19 for children's mental health, the present review aims to provide empirical evidence on the groups who are most at risk of mental health problems and uncover the risk and protective factors of children's mental health.Methods: A systematic search was performed, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, in the electronic databases Web of Science (including SSCI and A&HI) and EBSCOhost (including ERIC, MEDLINE and APA PsycArticles and APA PsycINFO), for any empirical studies published between January 2020 and February 2022 that focused on children ≤ 12 years old.Results: An initial search identified 2,133 studies. A total of 30 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The evidence showed that many children were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and experienced internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Worsened child mental health outcomes reflected socioeconomic inequalities as most at-risk children had parents with low educational attainment, were from families of low socioeconomic status and lived in small homes. Key risk factors were identified, including unhealthy lifestyle behaviors (extended screen time, sleep disturbances and less physical activity), increased pandemic-related stressors among parents and deteriorated mental health of parents, which were directly or indirectly associated with the pandemic safety measures, such as home confinement or social distancing. Protective factors including parents' resilience, positive parent-child relationship and school connectedness in relation to children's mental health were reported.Conclusion: The overall results highlight the urgent need for the implementation of tailor-made interventions for children with signs of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Health promotion and prevention strategies by the government to maintain the mental health of children, particularly those from lower SES families who are at higher risk of worsened mental health are essential for post-pandemic policies.

Experiencing stigma related to having a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be difficult and is detrimental to parent well-being. Since the research on stigmatized experiences among parents of children with ASD in non-Western communities is limited, this qualitative study examined the experiences, reactions and impacts of stigma on parents of children with ASD in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews were conducted with 54 Chinese parents/caregivers of children with ASD aged between 35 and 73 years old. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach. The participants reported stigma which stemmed from negative labelling of their children by schools and healthcare professionals, bullying by peers, stereotypes of ASD and stigma linked to autistic children’s behavior in the community. The reactions of participants towards stigmatization were classified into internalizing reactions including apologizing, ignoring and concealing ASD and externalizing reactions such as fighting back. The participants also reported impacts of stigma on both personal and emotional levels. The results point to the urgent need for the government to allocate resources and make concerted efforts to reduce stigma by educating the community to foster more positive attitudes towards individuals with ASD and offer support and counselling services to parents.

The sizable prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in China has recently emerged as an urgent public health issue; however, studies investigating parenting stress in Chinese parents of children with ASD lack clarity in identifying the potential factors of stress. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and categorize the potential factors of stress based on findings in the literature. An extensive search of articles in online databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (ERIC, MEDLINE and PsycINFO), was conducted, as a result of which 24 eligible articles published from 2007 to 2019 were identified. Four key categories of potential factors of parental stress—cultural factors, parents’ psychopathological symptoms, problem behaviors in ASD children, and caregiver burden—were identified. The impact of these potential factors on parental coping strategies and on the quality of life in affected families were also discussed.

Most studies on workplace bullying have been conducted in high-income countries and on Caucasian samples. Little is known about workplace bullying in Asian countries despite its recognition as a serious public health issue in the workplace. We examined the annual and lifetime prevalence of workplace bullying and its risk factors among Chinese employees in Hong Kong. The study was part of a larger project consisting of two waves. Respondents were recruited from a convenience sampling technique and completed a self-reported survey. Respondents reported whether they had been bullied at work for the past 12 months and during their lifetime. A multivariate logistic regression was conducted to explore the sociodemographic risk factors for workplace bullying. There were a total of 2657 respondents (54.6% male), with a mean age of 41.53 years. The annual and lifetime prevalence of workplace bullying were 39.1% and 58.9%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that workplace bullying in the past 12 months was associated with a high monthly income, and the combination of a high monthly income and higher educational attainment was associated with bullying at some point in the participants’ career. Suitable policies and interventions to reduce the extent of workplace bullying in Hong Kong are warranted.