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Associations of Socio-Ecological Contexts with Child Development

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Children's Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2023) | Viewed by 10203

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Dr. Xiaoyu Lan

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Guest Editor

Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0373 Oslo, Norway
Interests: mental health; well-being; personality traits; parenting; teacher-student relationships; peer interactions; culture; migration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Youth are embedded in a complex yet layered system that includes individual, family, peer, school, and community levels, as well as cultural characteristics and societal norms. Accordingly, young people’s psychosocial and academic development are established and perpetuated over time through mutual interactions among several socio-ecological factors. Guided by the widely used socio-ecological framework, scientists have produced fruitful research outcomes and generated vital knowledge about child development across diverse disciplines. Yet, investigations in past published work have typically segmented these factors, with a dearth of explorations focused systematically on interactions among the factors themselves. Seeking to expand the theoretical applications of the socio-ecological framework into empirical studies and practices, this Special Issue weaves together rigorous state-of-the-art findings to facilitate a comprehensive and systematic understanding of child development. More specifically, this Special Issue leverages a social-ecological framework (or relevant theory that partially reflects the core principles of developmental systems theory) to integrate empirically derived factors that potentially mediate/moderate young people’s broad psychosocial and academic functions. Through these integrative insights, this Special Issue addresses striking yet urgently needed conceptual gaps, advances the existing scholarship on wide-ranging child development issues, and ultimately, offers guidance for social-ecologically informed and tailored intervention/prevention programs.

Dr. Xiaoyu Lan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

socio-ecological framework
child development
children
adolescents
mental health
well-being
social functions
academic performance
mediation
moderation

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 650 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Longitudinal Relationship between Bullying Victimization and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Chinese Adolescents: The Buffering Roles of Gratitude and Parental Autonomy Support

by Nini Wu, Jianhong Mo, Anluan Wen, Haoer Ou, Weixin Gu, Yunqing Qiu, Lixin Yuan and Xiaoyu Lan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1440; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021440 - 12 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2101

Abstract

Drawing on the resilience-oriented socioecological framework, the current study contributes to scarce scholarship by exploring intrapersonal (i.e., gratitude) and interpersonal (i.e., parental autonomy support) factors in the longitudinal association between bullying victimization and adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Participants were 238 Chinese adolescents (Mage at Time 1 (T1) = 13.45 years; 106 girls and 132 boys) based on a two-wave prospective design with data spanning one year. At T1, adolescents self-rated all study variables, and at Time 2 (T2), youth again reported their NSSI. The results showed a significant main effect (b = 0.12, SE = 0.05, p = 0.04), indicating that bullying victimization was positively related to T2 NSSI one year later, even controlling for T1 NSSI. Moderation analyses further indicated that parental autonomy support buffered against the positive association between bullying victimization and T2 NSSI, but only when adolescents experienced lower levels of gratitude. Specifically, for adolescents with lower levels of gratitude, high levels of parental autonomy support, in a compensatory way, prevented adolescents from NSSI after victimization occurred (b = −0.03, SE = 0.09, p = 0.78); by contrast, for those with higher levels of gratitude, bullying victimization was not significantly related to T2 NSSI, regardless of the levels of parental autonomy support (b = 0.07, SE = 0.04, p = 0.59 for higher parental autonomy support; b = 0.01, SE = 0.07, p = 0.93 for lower parental autonomy support). These findings suggest that gratitude and parental autonomy support, manifesting in a compensatory interaction pattern, could serve as targeted agents for breaking the vicious linkage between bullying victimization and NSSI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Associations of Socio-Ecological Contexts with Child Development)

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13 pages, 850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parental Knowledge, Preference and Needs of Child-Rearing Family Programmes: A Case in Chinese Inner Mongolia Minority Region

by Jinjin Lu, Yi Huang and Jian Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010434 - 27 Dec 2022

Viewed by 3561

Abstract

Core parenting knowledge is critical for enhancing children’s physical and mental development throughout the early stages of life, and it is essential to understand parents’ preferences and needs in acquiring core parenting knowledge. In particular, with the launch of the Family Education Law in China, parents, community workers, and early childhood (EC) teachers gather together to engage in scientific and evidence-based programmes. However, Chinese historical and cultural factors, such as parents’ authority, family structure, child rearing, and non-scientific programme support, affect the improvement of parents’ knowledge and understanding of child-rearing programmes. This study used a qualitative research method to investigate parents’ knowledge, preferences, and needs regarding the potential implementation of interdisciplinary child-rearing programmes in the Inner Mongolia region of China. In total, 24 participants volunteered to take part in the study. The results reveal that most participants were positive and eager to acquire knowledge using evidence-based information to assist children’s mental and physical development. However, parents often have mixed opinions on obtaining knowledge and skills to enhance children’s academic and soft skills in the context of traditional Chinese cultural norms. Suggestions and implications are also provided for parents, social workers, EC teachers, and policymakers for future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Associations of Socio-Ecological Contexts with Child Development)

15 pages, 5354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parental Autonomy Support and Mental Health among Chinese Adolescents and Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

by Chunhua Ma, Yongfeng Ma and Youpeng Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14029; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114029 - 28 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1877

Abstract

Guided by the dual-factor model and self-determination theory, this study explored the relationship between parental autonomy support and mental health (i.e., life satisfaction and emotional problems) in adolescents and emerging adults, with a focus on the mediating role of self-esteem. We conducted two studies among independent samples in China, including 1617 adolescents aged 10 to 17 years (Mage =12.79, SD = 1.63; 50.7% girls; Study 1) and 1274 emerging adults aged 17 to 26 years (Mage = 20.31, SD = 1.63; 56.6% women; Study 2). All participants completed a set of self-reported questionnaires. The results of both studies validated our hypothesis; specifically, parental autonomy support was positively associated with life satisfaction, but negatively associated with emotional problems (emotional symptoms in Study 1 and depressive symptoms in Study 2). Meanwhile, self-esteem partially mediated the positive relationship between parental autonomy support and life satisfaction (R² = 0.33 in Study 1; R² = 0.38 in Study 2), and partially mediated the negative relationship between parental autonomy support and emotional problems (R² = 0.16 in Study 1; R² = 0.42 in Study 2). In summary, this suggests that the common antecedents of positive and negative indicators of mental health addressed in this study are prevalent in adolescents and emerging adults. These findings have important implications for preventive and interventional efforts aimed at mental health problems in both demographics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Associations of Socio-Ecological Contexts with Child Development)

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11 pages, 656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Context Matters—Child Growth within a Constrained Socio-Economic Environment

by Lukhanyo H. Nyati, Leila Patel, Sadiyya Haffejee, Matshidiso Sello, Sonia Mbowa, Tania Sani and Shane A. Norris

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 11944; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191911944 - 21 Sep 2022

Viewed by 2072

Abstract

Communities in major cities in developing countries may experience economic vulnerability, which has detrimental consequences for maternal and child health. This study investigated individual-, household-, and community-level factors associated with child growth and resilience of early-grade learners aged 6 to 8 years. Demographic characteristics, depression scale, child wellbeing, and anthropometric measurements were collected on a sample of 162 caregiver–child pairs (children 46% female) who receive the child support grant (cash transfer programme) from five low-income urban communities in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. Height and weight were converted to z-scores using the WHO Anthroplus software. Multiple linear regression was used to assess factors associated with child health outcomes and multi-level regression to account for community-level factors. Higher income vulnerability was associated with lower weight- and height-for-age z-scores (WAZ and HAZ). Not completing secondary schooling and higher household size were associated with lower HAZ but higher BAZ. Child male sex and caregiver with depression were associated with lower child resilience. Caregiver’s level of schooling and household size remained independent predictors of child growth, while the caregiver’s mental health status independently predicted child resilience. Thus, notwithstanding systemic constraints, there may be modifiable drivers that can help in developing targeted intervention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Associations of Socio-Ecological Contexts with Child Development)

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