Department of Psychology, College of Education and Sports Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.
Front Public Health. 2023 Jun 2;11:1133696. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1133696. eCollection 2023.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents have increasingly suffered from online problem behaviors and mental disorders. But little research has paid attention to the protective factors among adolescents. Therefore, the present study attempted to investigate the role of positive youth development (PYD) attributes in adolescents' depression, internet gaming disorder (IGD) and cyberbullying/victimization (CBV).
A total of 995 Chinese adolescents ( = 15.97 years, SD = 0.77, 325 boys) from two public high schools in Hubei province were recruited to participate in the three-wave longitudinal study over the span of 1 year during the pandemic (Time 1: November, 2020; Time 2: May, 2021; Time 3: November, 2021).
T1 PYD attributes negatively predicted T2 depression and T3 online problematic behaviors. T2 depression positively predicted IGD at T3. T3 IGD significantly predicted greater involvement in T3 CBV, and vice versa. Moreover, depression and one online problem behavior mediated the relationships between PYD attributes and the other online problem behavior, separately and sequentially.
These findings demonstrated the protective role of PYD attributes in prevention of mental disorders and online problem behaviors among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comprehensive measures should be taken to assist young people to develop more PYD attributes to promote healthy growth.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，青少年越来越多地遭受网络问题行为和精神障碍的困扰。但很少有研究关注青少年中的保护因素。因此，本研究试图探讨积极青年发展（PYD）属性在青少年抑郁、网络成瘾障碍（IGD）和网络欺凌/受害（CBV）中的作用。
本研究共招募了来自湖北省两所公立高中的 995 名中国青少年（ = 15.97 岁，SD = 0.77，325 名男生）参与为期 1 年的 COVID-19 大流行期间的三波纵向研究（时间 1：2020 年 11 月；时间 2：2021 年 5 月；时间 3：2021 年 11 月）。
T1 的 PYD 属性负向预测 T2 的抑郁和 T3 的网络问题行为。T2 的抑郁正向预测 T3 的 IGD。T3 的 IGD 显著预测 T3 中更大程度地卷入 CBV，反之亦然。此外，抑郁和一种网络问题行为分别和依次中介了 PYD 属性与另一种网络问题行为之间的关系。
这些发现表明，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，PYD 属性对预防青少年精神障碍和网络问题行为具有保护作用。应采取综合措施，帮助年轻人发展更多的 PYD 属性，促进其健康成长。
