This study examined the associations of interpersonal conflict and school connectedness with depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 6576 adolescents in Shenzhen, China. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed adolescents’ depressive symptoms, conflict with parents, teachers, and peers, school connectedness, and demographics. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the association of interpersonal conflict and school connectedness with depressive symptoms in adolescents. Results showed that conflicts with their mother, father, teachers, and peers were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in adolescents, while greater school connectedness was related to lower levels of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Gender proved to be a moderator of these relationships in that the associations of quarreling with mothers, mothers’ use of emotional punishments, teachers’ use of emotional punishments, and school connectedness with depressive symptoms were stronger in females than males. Moreover, grade level proved to be another moderator, with the associations of teachers’ use of physical punishment and fighting with peers with depressive symptoms being stronger in primary school students than in secondary school students. Our findings suggest that gender and grade level moderated the association of interpersonal conflict and school connectedness with depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents.

The potential for adolescent mental health problems arising from heavy internet use is significant. There is a need to better understand the risk and protective factors related to problematic internet use (PIU) amongst adolescents. This study examined the role of adolescents’ perceptions of school-based relationships as potential contextual antecedents to problematic internet use. Specifically, 6552 adolescent students (55.9% boys, 13.51 ± 2. 93 years) from 22 primary and middle schools in southern China completed questionnaires to measure the degree of adolescent conflict with peers, teachers and other staff, school connectedness, perceived classroom atmosphere and problematic internet use. Self-reported data was collected using a two-level stratified sampling. Multiple regression analyses showed that conflict with peers and teachers was positively associated with higher levels of PIU, while school connectedness and perceived classroom atmosphere were negatively associated with PIU. An interaction effect was found for conflict with peers and grade level, such that the association between conflict with peers and PIU was stronger for secondary students compared to primary school students. The results support the need for school-based interventions for PIU to include a focus on conflict with peers and teachers, and for a focus on the enhancement of school connectedness and classroom atmosphere.

Background: Problematic internet use (PIU) is prevalent among Chinese adolescents. There is a need to better understand how the quality of parent-adolescent relationship is associated with adolescent PIU to guide the development of effective prevention and early intervention programs. Objective: This study aims to evaluate parent-adolescent conflict and parenting styles as potential risk factors associated with adolescent PIU. Methods: A sample of 6552 students (aged 10-19 years) from 22 schools in Guangdong, China, was recruited. The participants completed self-report questionnaires measuring their perceptions of conflict with their parents (involving verbal conflict, emotional abuse, and physical abuse) as well as their perceptions of their parents’ parenting styles (including parental care and parental control as measured by the Parental Bonding Inventory), and PIU using the Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale. Grade level and gender were examined as moderators of these associations. Results: Using multiple regression analyses, we found that greater mother-adolescent conflict, father-adolescent conflict, and parental control, and lower levels of parental care, were associated with higher levels of adolescent PIU (P<.001). The association between mother-adolescent conflict and PIU was stronger in older students than in younger students (P=.04), whereas the association between father-adolescent conflict and PIU was stronger in male students than in female students (P=.02). Compared with those who reported no mother-adolescent conflict, participants who experienced verbal conflict and emotional abuse, but not physical abuse from their mothers, reported higher levels of PIU (P<.001). Compared with those who reported no father-adolescent conflict, participants who experienced verbal conflict, emotional abuse, and physical abuse from their fathers had significantly higher levels of PIU (P<.001, P<.001, and P=.02, respectively). Conclusions: These findings point to the value of interventions to reduce parental verbal conflict, emotional abuse, and physical abuse, and to increase positive parenting styles, to lower the risk of PIU in Chinese adolescents.

Previous reviews suggest that child maltreatment results in worse depression symptoms during adolescence and young adulthood. However, less is known about how depression symptoms evolve throughout this critical period. This systematic review evaluates changes in depression following child maltreatment and identifies factors influencing this relationship from adolescence to young adulthood. A search of APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase, and Medline until January 13, 2023, found 87 studies from 31,495 records. Studies were included if they examined child maltreatment’s effect on depression symptoms for individuals aged 0 to 24, assessed child maltreatment or abuse, and neglect subtypes, measured depression diagnosis or symptoms at a subsequent time point, and used quantitative longitudinal or cohort designs. Of the studies meeting criteria, only 13 examined depression symptom changes, with mixed results found. Most studies identified severe and worsening depression symptom trends, as shown in both linear and nonlinear depression symptom studies. Other studies examined distinct patterns of depression symptom severity within a single sample (e.g., high vs. low symptom trends) and observed some improvements over time, suggesting the influence of protective factors. However, across all studies, depression symptoms remained relatively worse than in individuals without child maltreatment histories. One-third of studies explored factors influencing depression symptom change, primarily focusing on intrapersonal and interpersonal factors, though findings were inconsistent. A smaller subset investigated environmental factors, demonstrating that school-related aspects consistently impacted the relationship. Findings highlight the importance of early detection and timely intervention through continuous screening to improve depression outcomes for adolescents with child maltreatment histories.

BACKGROUND Problematic internet use (PIU) is prevalent amongst Chinese adolescents. There is a need to better understand how parent-adolescent relationship quality is associated with adolescent PIU to guide the development of effective prevention and early intervention programs. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine parent-adolescent conflict and parental bonding as potential factors associated with adolescent PIU. METHODS A sample of 6552 students (age 10 to 19 years) from 22 schools in Guangdong, China, was recruited. Participants completed questionnaires measuring conflict (involving verbal conflict, emotional abuse, and physical abuse) and parental bonding with parents, and PIU. RESULTS Multiple regression analyses found that greater mother-adolescent conflict and father-adolescent conflict, and lower levels of parental bonding were associated with higher levels of PIU. The association of mother-adolescent conflict with PIU was stronger in older students than younger students, while the association of father-adolescent conflict with PIU was stronger in male students than female students. Compared to those who reported no mother-adolescent conflict, participants who experienced verbal conflict and emotional abuse, but not physical abuse from their mothers, reported higher levels of PIU. Compared to those who reported no father-adolescent conflict, participants who experienced verbal conflict, emotional abuse and physical abuse from their fathers were subject to significantly higher levels of PIU. CONCLUSIONS These findings point to the value of interventions to reduce parental verbal conflict, emotional abuse and physical abuse and to increase parental bonding to lower the risk of PIU in Chinese adolescents.