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Is education fever in China, embodied in parents' high expectations of and heavy investments in children's education, a source of strain for the offspring? Using a nationally representative sample of children from 6th to 12th grade, we examine the effects of education fever on adolescent deviance in China, controlling for a range of individual and family characteristics. The regression results revealed that parental investment increased adolescents' deviant behavior even when children's academic performance and family socioeconomic status were controlled, whereas parental expectation did not affect adolescents' deviant behavior. These findings demonstrated that education fever, particularly in the form of heavy parental investment, constitutes a salient source of strain for Chinese adolescents and its deviance-promoting influence should not be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health issue in Honduras and other low- and middle-income countries, with few victims seeking help. While structural factors, such as lack of services and economic barriers, are often cited as reasons for not seeking help, social and cultural factors may also play a role. This study aims to describe the normative social environment that may hinder women's help-seeking behaviors for IPV. Thematic analysis was conducted on data from four focus group discussions with 30 women at a busy health center in urban Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Data were coded inductively and themes were identified deductively using the theory of normative social behavior and its components (descriptive and injunctive social norms, expected outcomes, and groups of reference). Four themes emerged: social norms and expected outcomes that discourage IPV help-seeking; factors that determine the direction of a social norm, either discouraging or encouraging help-seeking; groups of reference for IPV victims; and society sets women up for failure. Social norms, expected outcomes, and groups of reference hinder women's help-seeking behavior after IPV. These findings have significant implications for designing effective interventions and policies to support women and their families affected by IPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study utilized network pharmacology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and in vitro experimental verification to explore the mechanisms of action by which asiatic acid (AA) inhibits acetaldehyde-induced activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Methods: Databases were screened to identify intersections between AA and alcoholic liver fibrosis. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Enrichment analysis were performed, followed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation to predict further the interactions between AA and cross-targets. Mechanisms of action of AA were assessed experimentally in HSC-T6 rat HSCs. Results: Screening of the relevant databases using web pharmacology identified several genes, including those encoding signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)-P65 (RELA), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), that were closely associated with alcoholic liver fibrosis. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the alcoholic liver disease pathway was the most relevant one, and molecular docking showed critical binding activity of RELA, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β with AA. Molecular dynamics simulation showed that the binding between RELA and AA was stable. AA at concentrations of 0 to 30 μM were determined to be nontoxic to HSC-T6 cells. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting showed that the levels of expression of α-SMA and type 1 collagen were higher in acetaldehyde-treated than untreated HSC-T6 cells, with AA reducing their expression dose-dependently in acetaldehyde-treated cells. Western blotting also showed that AA could upregulate the expression of the apoptotic proteins BCL2 associated X and cleaved caspase 3 and could inhibit the phosphorylation of RELA and IKB-α. Conclusion: AA inhibited acetaldehyde-induced HSC-T6 cell proliferation and suppressed the secretion of fibrillar factors by inhibiting RELA phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violent and property victimization among Chinese adolescents remains a social problem, yet studies that incorporate individual characteristics and situational/contextual factors to explain such victimization remain scarce. Drawing upon survey data collected from a large, representative sample of middle school students from two areas in Guizhou Province, China, we test Schreck's integrated model of victimization, finding that self-control has both direct and indirect influences on violent and property victimization among Chinese adolescents. Delinquent peers play the most significant intermediate role in connecting self-control and adolescent victimization. Results reconfirm the importance of both self-control and risky lifestyles/situations in shaping victimization, and identify a victimization pathway that accentuates the key linking mechanism of delinquent peers in the self-control-victimization nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to investigate (1) the difference in polyvictimization rate between children left behind and those living with non-migrant parents in rural China, and (2) the social processes through which the effects of parental migration are conveyed through children's behaviors and interaction with the immediate external environment (e.g., family, school, and peers). The research hypotheses were tested by using a probability sample consisting of 1,681 middle school students in rural areas in Guizhou province (Mean age = 13.55, SD = 1.01; 50% of the participants were boys). Findings from multivariate logistic regression models and indirect effect analyses suggest that (1) overall, left-behind children are exposed to a higher level of polyvictimization than children living with both non-migrant parents in rural China and (2) whereas all left-behind children face similar challenges in school and family settings, each type of parental migration and caretaking arrangement entails unique protective or risk factors of polyvictimization. As one of the first studies to systematically investigate the rate and etiology of polyvictimization among children left behind in rural China, this study highlights the prominent role of parental migration in reproducing and reinforcing children's differential exposure to polyvictimization among China's rural families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the difference in rates of sexual assault between left-behind children and those living with both parents in rural China and attempts to identify potential social mechanisms explaining this variation. Using data from a probability sample of middle school students in Guizhou Province, China, our study reveals that parental migration, particularly maternal and both-parent migration, significantly increases children's risk of sexual victimization. This relationship is mediated by three intervening pathways: weakened caretaker monitoring and supervision, children's increased engagement in risky lifestyles, and elevated exposure to general victimization. These findings highlight the urgency to develop prevention and treatment programs based on a holistic understanding of protective and risk factors for sexual abuse against left-behind children in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends the testing of situational action theory (SAT) to a Chinese population, and sheds new light on the directions of the moderation relationships between self-control and morality, and between crime propensity and criminogenic exposure on delinquency. Relying on a large, representative sample of middle school students from two areas of Guizhou, China (N = 2,498), we find that both self-control and morality have significant inhibiting effects on delinquency. Moreover, self-control has a more profound curbing effect on delinquency among adolescents with higher levels of morality. Meanwhile, the promoting effect of crime propensity on delinquency decreases when levels of risky exposure increase. When adolescents have more unsupervised activities and delinquent peers, their crime propensity affects delinquency to a lesser extent. Our study confirms that individual and situational factors interlock in determining delinquency, and reiterates the value of empirical testing across cultures to validate and possibly improve general theories of crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although self-control consistently emerges as one of the most robust correlates of delinquent behavior, limited empirical attempts have been made to explore the contextual variability of the relationship between self-control and delinquency outside of Western societies. Using data collected from 587 seventh- to ninth-grade students across 10 middle schools in a rural county of Southeast China, we examine self-control's efficacy in explaining juvenile delinquency in the presence of external environmental factors, and investigate relative strength of self-control and contextual factors in predicting delinquent behaviors. Our results confirm that self-control is an important predictor of delinquent behavior in a non-Western cultural context. However, certain environmental factors rooted in family, school, and peer groups are also shown to be the predictors of delinquent behavior where strength seems to exceed that of self-control. These findings shed more nuanced insights on the nexus between self-control, external situations, and delinquency, and in a broader sense, contribute to the elaboration of a more comprehensive understanding of self-control theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the longitudinal associations between patterns of housing vacancies, neighborhood social disorder, and crime in the city of New Orleans. Using large-scale administrative and contextual data collected from the year 2012 to 2018, our spatiotemporal regression analysis provides empirical evidence for the salient effects of housing vacancy on neighborhood level of property crime and violence. In addition, the spillover effect of housing vacancy is observed on the neighborhood level of drug offense, property crime, and violence. These results potentially identify vacant properties as a modifiable target for intervention to reduce urban crime and suggest that community-based programs aiming to enhance informal social control and collective efficacy may be as important as broken window policing programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of parental migration and alternative caretaking arrangements on children's delinquency in rural China. Using data from the Parental Migration and Children's Well-Being Survey, our results suggest that children's delinquency is influenced by a dynamic interaction between caretaking arrangements and children's self-control. More specifically, grandparenting appears to be an equivalent substitution for normative nuclear family parenting and has some advantage over caretaking by a remaining parent, especially for children with low self-control. These findings can serve as a starting point for a further conversation on the benefit of extended families and collective parenting, and on how to best use cultural resources in rural China under the constraint of parental migration and other structural barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Examine the relationship between parental rural-to-urban migration, caretaking arrangement, and left-behind children’s self-reported victimization in rural China. The direct effect of parental migration on children’s victimization as well as the indirect effect through positive caretaking and children’s delinquent/problem behavior involvement is explored. Methods: The study uses data from the Parental Migration and Children’s Well-being Survey, which collected information on parental migration and children’s experience of victimization from a probability sample of 800 middle school students in southern China. Structural equation modeling is used to evaluate hypothesized models by simultaneously assessing direct and indirect effects. Results: Compared with children living with both parents in rural China, children left behind by their fathers have an elevated level of victimization. In addition, the chronic absence of fathers leads to a higher level of delinquent and problem behavior among left-behind children, which in turn leads to further victimization. Conclusion: Left-behind children living with mothers, grandparents, or other relatives are an “at-risk” population for victimization. Local programs such as parenting lessons for left-behind parents and grandparents are needed. In addition, the importance of father’s chronic absence on left-behind children’s healthy physical and mental development needs to be further examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing literature suggesting that childhood-onset behavioral problems have negative long-term effects on multiple life domains, including poor physical and mental health, substance use, interpersonal conflict, and domestic violence. The current study extends this line of research by assessing the association between childhood-onset behavioral problems and later violent victimization. Using a sample of serious juvenile offenders, the study shows that individuals with childhood-onset behavioral problems are at an elevated risk of encountering violent victimization during adolescence and early adulthood. Results suggest that childhood-onset does not directly lead to later victimization; instead, a mediating process that involves children’s continuing involvement in delinquency/criminal activities and association with deviant peers ultimately put these youth into high-risk situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Agnew’s general strain theory, repeated strains can generate crime and delinquency by reducing social control and fostering social learning of crime. Using a sample of 615 middle- and high-school students in China, this study examines how social control and social learning variables mediate the effect of repeated strains in school and at home on delinquency. The findings from an integrated model support Agnew’s mediating argument in a non-Western society. Repeated negative treatment by teachers promotes delinquent behavior both through weakened conventional bonds and beliefs and through heightened association with delinquent peers. Repeated negative treatment by parents affects delinquency only through weakened conventional bonds. The prominent role of school experiences in the lives of Chinese adolescents is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prior research has identified a small group of adolescents who completely refrain from delinquent behavior. Researchers have hypothesized that these adolescents may be excluded from normative peer activities and are thus insulated from delinquent peer role models. A central argument in Moffitt’s account of delinquency abstention, for example, is that delinquency abstainers are socially isolated due to certain unappealing physical/personality characteristics. Using the detailed friendship network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the authors attempt to test Moffitt’s account of delinquency abstention, particularly the association between social exclusion and delinquency. Their results do not suggest strong empirical support for the hypothesis that delinquency abstention is ‘‘correlated with unpopularity and social isolation.’’ The complex associations between adolescent friendship network characteristics and delinquency abstention highlight the necessity for future research on peer contexts in which adolescents are embedded. The authors’ findings appear to challenge Moffitt’s theory, suggesting the need for certain modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]