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Background: Non-suicidal self-injury is a heavy burden on affected college students with rippling effects throughout their lives. Childhood maltreatment is strongly associated with non-suicidal self-injury among college students. However, it remains unclear whether perceived family economic status and social phobia exert significant moderating effects on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury., Objective: This study aimed to identify the perceived family economic status and social phobia moderating the association between childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury., Participants and Setting: This study used data (N = 5297) from two local medical colleges in Anhui province, China., Methods: Respondents completed questionnaires on childhood maltreatment, non-suicidal self-injury, social phobia and perceived family economic status online. Data were analyzed using Spearman's correlation followed by multiple moderation models., Results: The association between childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury was moderated by social phobia (β = 0.03, p < 0.05) and perceived family economic status (β = -0.30, p < 0.05). When considered together, both factors were found to play synergistic roles in the association between childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury in college students (β = 0.08, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Our findings highlight that experience of childhood maltreatment, elevated social phobia, and low perceived family economic status increase the risk of non-suicidal self-injury. Future researches are recommended to conduct interventions from a more holistic perspective and integrate perceived family economic status as a relevant factor along with social phobia in coping with non-suicidal self-injury in college students., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use are risk factors for depression and anxiety symptoms among college students. However, how the interaction between the two factors affects depression and anxiety has yet to be validated. This study aimed to investigate the independent and interaction effects of childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use on depression and anxiety among college students and explored gender-based differences in these associations., Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2019. We collected data from 7623 students at two colleges in Hefei and Anqing cities in Anhui Province, China. Multinomial logistic regression models were performed to explore the associations of childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use with depression and anxiety symptoms and their interaction effects on depression and anxiety symptoms., Results: Childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use were significantly associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety symptoms (P < 0.001). Moreover, following adjustments for covariates, there was a multiplicative interaction between childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use on depression and anxiety symptoms (P < 0.001). Gender-based differences were also observed in the associations. For instance, depression was more common in males and male students with childhood maltreatment were at higher risk of depression-only symptoms., Conclusion: Focusing on childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use could facilitate a reduction in the occurrence of depression and anxiety symptoms in college students. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop gender-targeted intervention strategies., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The impact of childhood maltreatment on multiple inflammatory cytokines among middle school students remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to examine the associations of different types of childhood maltreatment with peripheral serum inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-10, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α) in middle school students, and to explore the differences in these associations between boys and girls and between late (≥15 and<20 years) and early (≥11 and <15 years) adolescence., Methods: A total of 1122 students were recruited from a boarding middle school. Each participant was asked to respond to a detailed questionnaire on childhood maltreatment, from whom one blood sample was drawn via venous blood., Results: In the overall sample there was no association between childhood maltreatment and peripheral serum inflammatory cytokines; (2) emotional abuse was significantly correlated with IL-1β only in girls ( B = -0.16; 95% CI, -0.28~-0.03; p = 0.06); (3) in late adolescence, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and childhood maltreatment had marked link with IL-8 ( B = 0.39; 95%CI, 0.16~0.63; p = 0.01; B =0.20; 95% CI, 0.04~0.37; p = 0.08; B = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.18~0.82; p = 0.01, respectively)., Conclusion: These findings also strengthened an inference regarding the effects of childhood maltreatment on inflammation of students in late adolescence., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Jin, Li, Li, Song, Zhang, Sun, Tao and Wan.)

This study aimed to examine the association between childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality with psychological symptoms and to explore the moderating role of parent-child relationship quality in the association between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms among adolescents. It also probed to the role of gender differences in this effect. A representative sample of 14,500 middle school students in China were asked to complete a standard questionnaire on the details of childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality, and psychological symptoms. All data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. The PROCESS program was used to analyze whether parent-child relationship quality moderated the link between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms. The analyses revealed significant correlations between childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality, and psychological symptoms ( p < .001). Specifically, paternal relationship quality moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms in the total sample ( B = -0.01, p < .05) and the subgroup of girls ( B = -0.01, p < .05), while maternal relationship quality moderated only the association between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms in the subgroup of boys ( B = -0.01, p < .05). As the findings indicate, priority should be given to the quality of parent-child relationship and gender-specific methods employed to effectively reduce the psychological symptoms of adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment.

Background: Depressive symptoms are the most common mental disorder among adolescents, and its prevalence has been increasing in recent years. Although childhood maltreatment is a contributing factor to depressive symptoms among adolescents, the underlying mechanism of how this factor causes depressive symptoms is unclear., Objective: This study aimed to investigate the mediating effects of parent-child relationship on the association between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms among adolescents and to identify how sex and only child status affect this association., Methods: A total of 14,500 middle school students were randomly selected from four cities (Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Nanchang, and Guiyang) in China. A survey questionnaire was administered to collect information on childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationship, and depressive symptoms. Pearson's correlation analysis was used in analyzing the relationship, Bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effects. A moderated mediation analysis has been used to determine the moderated mediation effect., Results: Childhood maltreatment significantly negatively correlated with parent-child relationship and positively correlated with depressive symptoms (P < 0.001). The indirect effect of parent-child relationship accounted for 20.60% of the total effect between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms in all respondents and differed by sex (boys, 17.00%; girls, 25.23%) and only child status (only child, 15.61%; child with siblings, 23.49%). Besides, the indirect effect of the mediation model was moderated by sex and only child status., Conclusions: Childhood maltreatment increased the risk of depressive symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by parent-child relationship, sex and only child status have moderated the indirect relationship. These findings showed efforts aimed at enhancing the parent-child relationship may prevent or reduce the prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents, especially in girls and children with siblings., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Previous research has investigated the independent effects of childhood maltreatment, adult attachment, and physical activity, on depressive symptoms. However, explanatory mechanisms linking childhood maltreatment to current depressive symptoms are poorly understood. This study investigated the mediating role of adult attachment between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms among college students and explored the moderating effect of physical activity in the mediating pathway., Methods: The data for the present study were gathered in three waves with 6-month lags. A total of 3662 Chinese college students completed anonymous questionnaires concerning demographic variables, childhood maltreatment, and depressive symptoms in Wave 1, adult attachment and physical activity in Wave 2, and depressive symptoms in Wave 3., Results: Childhood maltreatment and adult attachment were significantly associated with depressive symptoms, identifying a mediating role of adult attachment in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms, and a moderating role of physical activity between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms in the mediating pathway., Limitations: This study utilized self-reported questionnaires for data collection purposes, which could constitute key study limitations., Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to consider early stress factors (childhood maltreatment), social psychological factors (adult attachment), and potential protective factors (physical activity) simultaneously when evaluating the occurrence and development of depressive symptoms., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Little is known about the sex differences in the determinants of suicide attempt among adolescents. The results from 14,820 students in China revealed that girls who were in younger age (10-13y), living in urban area, having lower social support and exposed to physical abuse were more likely to report SA compared to their boys counterparts. Conversely, the impact of having psychological symptoms on SA was stronger in boys than girls. Our findings highlight the importance that groups at highest risk of SA should be targeted accordingly by sex., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)