Child Adversity and Addiction Behaviors among Adolescents

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 10185

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
Interests: child abuse and emotional/behavioral disorders; affective and social neuroscience; individual difference in personality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, there is an increased number of adolescents suffering from psychological illness and addiction problems. Firstly, addiction behaviors are antecedents of many psychological and behavioral problems, including stress, anxiety, depression, and suicide. Secondly, adverse environmental factors in early life have long-lasting negative impacts on mental health and externalized behaviors, such as addiction behaviors. Additionally, attention for child adversity and addiction behaviors among adolescents seems to be warranted because they are more susceptible to stressful life events.

This Special Issue on child adversity and addiction behaviors among adolescents focuses on exploring the essential triggers, negative effects, and practical implications for the prevention and treatment of addiction behaviors among adolescents.

Furthermore, we also focus on the following six topics:

  1. The manifestation of the negative consequences of child maltreatment;
  2. The various influences of child maltreatment in terms of different types of maltreatment, different periods of abuse, and different lengths of abuse;
  3. Extending the potential mechanisms of the influence of child maltreatment;
  4. Exploring the susceptibility factors and protective factors;
  5. Developing child maltreatment theoretical models;
  6. Developing alternative measurements of child maltreatment for people of different ages.

We welcome a diversity of article formats, particularly conceptual and empirical articles, reviews, and meta-analyses. Specifically, we first and foremost invite papers that present integrated sets of studies that address significant theoretical issues relating to mental health and addiction behaviors. Secondly, we welcome theoretical papers and critical reviews of current experimental and methodological interests. Thirdly, single, well-designed studies of an innovative nature, such as diary methods, are of interest. Fourthly, brief reports, including replication or null-result studies of previously reported findings, or well-designed studies addressing questions of limited scope, are invited for submission.

Dr. Yanhui Xiang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • adolescence
  • child maltreatment
  • substance addictions
  • behavioral addictions
  • mobile phone addictions
  • addictive disorders
  • trauma
  • diary method
  • longitudinal method

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1431 KiB  
Article
Discrepancies in Adolescent–Parent Perceptions of Parental Phubbing and Their Relevance to Adolescent Smartphone Dependence: The Mediating Role of Parent–Child Relationship
by Shi Chen, Dongqing Qiu, Xing Li and Qingbai Zhao
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 888; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13110888 - 27 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1450
Abstract
Parental phubbing behavior is a significant predictor of adolescent smartphone dependence. However, previous research has mainly focused on the child and adolescent’s perspective, overlooking potential differences in how parents and their children perceive parental phubbing. Therefore, this study investigates whether disparities exist in [...] Read more.
Parental phubbing behavior is a significant predictor of adolescent smartphone dependence. However, previous research has mainly focused on the child and adolescent’s perspective, overlooking potential differences in how parents and their children perceive parental phubbing. Therefore, this study investigates whether disparities exist in how parents and adolescents perceive parental phubbing and how these perceptual differences impact adolescent smartphone dependence. We also explore the role of the parent–child relationship in this context. In this study, 728 families from a middle school in Wuhan were selected and surveys were administered to both children and parents. The findings are as follows: (1) Significant perceptual differences were found between parents and adolescents regarding parental phubbing. (2) These perceptual discrepancies positively predict adolescent smartphone dependence and negatively impact parent–child relationships. Additionally, parent–child relationships have a negative influence on adolescent smartphone dependence. (3) The parent–child relationship serves as a mediator between perceptual differences in parental phubbing behavior and adolescent smartphone dependence. In summary, this research highlights the importance of considering both parent and adolescent perspectives on parental phubbing and emphasizes the role of the parent–child relationship in influencing adolescent smartphone dependence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Adversity and Addiction Behaviors among Adolescents)
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15 pages, 1328 KiB  
Article
Psychological Resilience Interventions for Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Jingwen Xing, Xiaofeng Xu, Xing Li and Qing Luo
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13(7), 543; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13070543 - 29 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1693
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe mental health effects on adolescents. Psychological resilience is the ability to recover quickly from adversity and can help adolescents cope with the stress and dangers brought by the pandemic better. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe mental health effects on adolescents. Psychological resilience is the ability to recover quickly from adversity and can help adolescents cope with the stress and dangers brought by the pandemic better. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the developmental pattern of psychological resilience in adolescents and to find the sensitive period for psychological resilience intervention to promote resilience in adolescents during the pandemic. The study measured the psychological resilience of a total of 559 adolescents using the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC) in four grades: grade 7 and grade 8 in a junior high school, and grade 10 and grade 11 in a high school. It was found that the resilience level of the adolescents decreased in grade 10 and then increased significantly in grade 11 (F = 4.22, p = 0.006). A 4-week resilience intervention was conducted in the four grades using both psychological course training and physical training. The results revealed that the psychological course training was effective in promoting resilience in the 7th (F = 4.79, p = 0.03) and 8th (F = 4.75, p = 0.03) grades, but not in the 10th and 11th grades. The result suggests that the 7th and 8th grades may be a critical period for psychological resilience interventions for adolescents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Adversity and Addiction Behaviors among Adolescents)
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13 pages, 1628 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Long-Term Online Learning on Internet Addiction Symptoms among Depressed Secondary School Students: Insights from a Cross-Panel Network Analysis
by Yanqiang Tao, Qihui Tang, Xinyuan Zou, Shujian Wang, Zijuan Ma, Xiangping Liu and Liang Zhang
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13(7), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13070520 - 21 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2225
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to online learning have increased the risk of Internet addiction (IA) among adolescents, especially those who are depressed. This study aims to identify the core symptoms of IA among depressed adolescents using a cross-lagged panel network [...] Read more.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to online learning have increased the risk of Internet addiction (IA) among adolescents, especially those who are depressed. This study aims to identify the core symptoms of IA among depressed adolescents using a cross-lagged panel network framework, offering a fresh perspective on understanding the interconnectedness of IA symptoms. Methods: Participants completed the Internet addiction test and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. A total of 2415 students were initially included, and after matching, only 342 students (a cutoff score of 8) were retained for the final data analysis. A cross-lagged panel network analysis was conducted to examine the autoregressive and cross-lagged trajectories of IA symptoms over time. Results: The incidence rate of depression rose remarkably from 14.16% (N = 342) to 17.64% (N = 426) after the four-month online learning. The symptom of “Anticipation” exhibited the highest out-expected influence within the IA network, followed by “Stay online longer” and “Job performance or productivity suffer”. Regarding the symptom network of depression, “Job performance or productivity suffer” had the highest in-expected influence, followed by “Life boring and empty”, “Snap or act annoyed if bothered”, “Check email/SNS before doing things”, and “School grades suffer”. No significant differences were found in global network strength and network structure between waves 1 and 2. Conclusion: These findings prove the negative effects of online learning on secondary students’ mental health and have important implications for developing more effective interventions and policies to mitigate IA levels among depressed adolescents undergoing online learning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Adversity and Addiction Behaviors among Adolescents)
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9 pages, 600 KiB  
Article
Development and Validation of the Father-Love Absence Scale for Adolescents
by Yanhui Xiang and Yue Zhou
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13(5), 435; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13050435 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1873
Abstract
Although father love is vital for the positive growth of the child, there is currently no reliable tool to assess the psychological absence of fathers. Therefore, the current study aims to develop an instrument to measure adolescents’ experiences of father-love absence from a [...] Read more.
Although father love is vital for the positive growth of the child, there is currently no reliable tool to assess the psychological absence of fathers. Therefore, the current study aims to develop an instrument to measure adolescents’ experiences of father-love absence from a psychological absence perspective. According to the fundamental psychological diathesis assumption, the father-love absence scale (FLAS) was developed based on expert panel discussions. A total of 2592 junior high school student participants were surveyed, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to determine the items for the formal scale. The results showed that the 18-item FLAS consisted of four factors, which were emotional absence (EA), cognitive absence (CA), behavioral absence (BA), and volitional absence (VA). In conclusion, the FLAS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity, and this scale is a valuable tool for assessing father-love absence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Adversity and Addiction Behaviors among Adolescents)
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16 pages, 328 KiB  
Article
Socio-Demographic, Self-Control, Bullying, Parenting, and Sleep as Proximal Factors Associated with Food Addiction among Adolescents
by Mark Leary, Kirrilly M. Pursey, Antonio Verdejo-Garcia, Scarlett Smout, Nyanda McBride, Bridie Osman, Katrina E. Champion, Lauren A. Gardner, Hiba Jebeile, Erin V. Kelly, Louise Thornton, Maree Teesson and Tracy L. Burrows
Behav. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 488; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12120488 - 01 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2055
Abstract
Adolescence is considered an important period of neurodevelopment. It is a time for the emergence of psychosocial vulnerabilities, including symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and increased engagement in unhealthy eating behaviours. Food addiction (FA) in adolescents is an area of study where there [...] Read more.
Adolescence is considered an important period of neurodevelopment. It is a time for the emergence of psychosocial vulnerabilities, including symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and increased engagement in unhealthy eating behaviours. Food addiction (FA) in adolescents is an area of study where there has been substantial growth. However, to date, limited studies have considered what demographic characteristics of adolescents may predispose them to endorse greater symptoms of FA. Studies have found a variety of factors that often cluster with and may influence an adolescent’s eating behaviour such as sleep, level of self-control, and parenting practices, as well as bullying. Therefore, this study investigated a range of socio-demographic, trait, mental health, and lifestyle-related profiles (including self-control, parenting, bullying, and sleep) as proximal factors associated with symptoms of FA, as assessed via the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children (YFAS-C) in a large sample of Australian adolescents. Following data cleaning, the final analysed sample included 6587 students (age 12.9 years ± 0.39; range 10.9–14.9 years), with 50.05% identifying as male (n = 3297), 48.5% as female (n = 3195), 1.02% prefer not to say (n = 67), and 0.43% as non-binary (n = 28). Self-control was found to be the most significant predictor of total FA symptom score, followed by female gender, sleep quality, and being a victim of bullying. Universal prevention programs should therefore aim to address these factors to help reduce the prevalence or severity of FA symptoms within early adolescent populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Adversity and Addiction Behaviors among Adolescents)
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