Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2024 Aug;52(8):1303-1317. doi: 10.1007/s10802-024-01195-9. Epub 2024 Apr 16.
There is growing support for the dual-continua model of mental health, which emphasizes psychopathology and well-being as related but distinct dimensions. Yet, little is known about how these dimensions co-develop from childhood to early adolescence and what factors predict their different trajectories. The current study aimed to identify distinct patterns of mental health in Chinese early adolescents, focusing on both psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depressive symptoms and self-harm behaviors) and subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and affect balance). This study also examined the contributions of school climate and future orientation to these trajectories. A total of 1,057 students (M = 11.88, SD = 1.67; 62.1% boys) completed four assessments over two years, with six-month intervals. Using parallel-process latent class growth modeling, we identified four groups: Flourishing (32.5%), Languishing (43.8%), Troubled with Stable Depressive Symptoms (16.1%), and Troubled with Increasing Self-Harm Risk (7.6%). Furthermore, school climate and future orientation contributed to adolescents' membership in these trajectories, either independently or jointly. Specifically, higher levels of future orientation combined with higher school climate were associated with a lower likelihood of belonging to the Troubled with Increasing Self-Harm Risk trajectory, compared to the Flourishing group. Our findings identified four distinct mental health trajectories consistent with the dual-continua model, and demonstrated that the development of psychopathology and well-being were not always inversely related (e.g., the Languishing group). Adolescents with unique developmental profiles may benefit from tailored intervention strategies that build on the personal and environmental assets of the adolescent.
越来越多的人支持心理健康的双重连续体模型，该模型强调精神病理学和幸福感是相关但不同的维度。然而，对于这些维度如何从儿童期到青少年早期共同发展，以及哪些因素预测它们的不同轨迹，人们知之甚少。本研究旨在确定中国青少年心理健康的不同模式，重点关注精神病理学症状（即抑郁症状和自残行为）和主观幸福感（即生活满意度和情绪平衡）。本研究还探讨了学校氛围和未来取向对这些轨迹的贡献。共有 1057 名学生（M=11.88，SD=1.67；62.1%为男生）在两年内完成了四次评估，间隔六个月。使用并行过程潜类别增长模型，我们确定了四个群体：繁荣（32.5%）、萎靡（43.8%）、稳定抑郁症状困扰（16.1%）和自残风险增加困扰（7.6%）。此外，学校氛围和未来取向对青少年属于这些轨迹的情况有独立或共同的贡献。具体来说，未来取向水平较高且学校氛围较好的青少年，与繁荣组相比，不太可能属于自残风险增加困扰组。我们的研究结果确定了四个与双重连续体模型一致的不同心理健康轨迹，并表明精神病理学和幸福感的发展并不总是相反的（例如，萎靡组）。具有独特发展特征的青少年可能受益于基于青少年个人和环境资产的定制干预策略。
