Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Juvenile crime, as an important factor of public security, has extensively concerned the whole society. Although juvenile offenders with antisocial tendency exhibit unique behavior patterns and development characteristics, few studies have investigated the potential mechanism of aggressive behaviors in juvenile offenders. Based on the dual-hormone hypothesis and social information processing theory, It is plausible to argue that biological hormones and the social information processing process related to hostile might play an fundamental role in shaping aggressive behaviors of juvenile offenders. Therefore, the present study proposes a moderated mediating model and examined the prediction of testosterone for aggressive behaviors in juvenile offenders that is mediated by hostile attention bias and moderated cortisol. Drawing on both biological hormone and social cognition perspectives, the present study attempts to answer the questions of “how” testosterone affects aggressive behavior and “when” the effect will be present, which provides implications for further developing interventions against aggressive behaviors in juvenile offenders with antisocial tendency. This study included 84 juvenile offenders (average age: 17.55, standard deviations: 0.52) as participants. Their aggressive behavior was measured using the Chinese version of the Buss-Perry Attack Scale (AQCV). Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was utilized to measure the salivary testosterone and cortisol levels of the participants. Moreover, the participants' attention biases toward hostile aggressive phrases and hostile facial expressions were evaluated using an adopted Stroop and the dot-probe paradigm, respectively. Both traditional and trail-level attention bias scores were calculated to reflect the participants' attention bias statically and dynamically.Results showed that (1) attention bias toward hostile stimuli (Variability, Peak TL-BSNEGATIVE) played a complete mediation role in the relationship between testosterone and aggressive behavior (i.e. variability played a complete mediation role in the prediction of AQCV total score, physical aggression subscale score, and anger subscale score. Peak TL-BSNEGATIVE played a complete mediation role in the prediction of verbal aggression subscale score by testosterone). (2) Cortisol moderated the relationship between testosterone and attention bias toward hostile stimuli. More specifically, at a high cortisol level, testosterone positively predicted individual attention avoidance (Peak TL-BSNEGATIVE) and variability, thereby reducing the aggression level. However, the mediation effect of attention bias toward hostile stimuli was not significant at a low cortisol level. Based on the dual-hormone hypothesis and social information processing theory, the present study examined a moderated mediating model in a sample of juvenile offenders with antisocial tendency using the perspectives of biological hormone and social information processing in aggressive behaviors. The present study revealed a potential development mechanism of aggressive behaviors in juvenile offenders and thus provides an empirical foundation for hormone-based interventions against aggressive behaviors in juvenile offenders. Finally, on the basis of the mediation and moderation effects of biological hormones on aggressive behavior, the present study indicates that increasing attention avoidance and the cortisol level for juvenile offenders with antisocial tendency might help reduce their aggressive violence.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak increases public mental stress and pandemic-related trauma. Timely and comprehensive online mental health services have been deployed across China. Hotline counselors can be exposed to the stress and trauma experienced by callers indirectly. They may experience secondary traumatic stress (STS) as a result of their empathetic engagement with traumatized clients, and they may also experience vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). The present study examined negative and positive change in hotline counselors concurrently and explored the mechanisms of both positive and negative outcomes. Participants were 776 counselors (81% female, average age = 42.57 ± 7.90, average years of experience = 12.44 ± 5.92) recruited from MOE-CCNU Mental Health Service Platform, the biggest official telephone-based and online psychological support platform in China during COVID-19 period. Empathy and VPTG were measured by revised Chinese versions of self-report questionnaires. STS was assessed by the corresponding subscale of the Professional Quality of Life Scale. The Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire was used to assess participants’ search for life meaning. Mindfulness was evaluated by Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Latent variable structural equation modeling was applied. After controlling age, trauma cases and total cases, counselors’ empathy was positively associated with STS and VPTG. Results revealed that empathy was positively associated with STS and VPTG. Mindfulness mediated this association between empathy and STS. Search for meaning mediated the relationship between empathy and VPTG. Additionally, the association between empathy and VPTG was also mediated through other four significant mediating pathways: (a) secondary trauma stress, (b) secondary traumatic stress and search for meaning, (c) mindfulness and search for meaning, and (d) mindfulness and secondary trauma stress and search for meaning. Our findings support that empathy lead to both positive and negative outcomes among hotline counselors during COVID-19 period in China, highlighting dialectical insights into trauma workers’ experiences. When counselors engage in others’ traumatic experience, their vicarious negative emotional experience may be a pathway to growth, and search for life meaning is an important factor in that growth.
Subjects: Psychology >> Clinical and Counseling Psychology submitted time 2021-05-25
Abstract： " The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak increases public mental stress and pandemic-related trauma. Timely and comprehensive online mental health services have been deployed across China. Hotline counselors can be exposed to the stress and trauma experienced by callers indirectly. They may experience secondary traumatic stress (STS) as a result of their empathetic engagement with traumatized clients, and they may also experience vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). The present study examined negative and positive change in hotline counselors concurrently and explored the mechanisms of both positive and negative outcomes. Participants were 776 counselors (81% female, average age = 42.57 ± 7.90, average years of experience = 12.44 ± 5.92) recruited from MOE-CCNU Mental Health Service Platform, the biggest official telephone-based and online psychological support platform in China during COVID-19 period. Empathy and VPTG were measured by revised Chinese versions of self-report questionnaires. STS was assessed by the corresponding subscale of the Professional Quality of Life Scale. The Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire was used to assess participants’ search for life meaning. Mindfulness was evaluated by Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Latent variable structural equation modeling was applied. After controlling age, trauma cases and total cases, counselors’ empathy was positively associated with STS and VPTG. Results revealed that empathy was positively associated with STS and VPTG. Mindfulness mediated this association between empathy and STS. Search for meaning mediated the relationship between empathy and VPTG. Additionally, the association between empathy and VPTG was also mediated through other four significant mediating pathways: (a) secondary trauma stress, (b) secondary traumatic stress and search for meaning, (c) mindfulness and search for meaning, and (d) mindfulness and secondary trauma stress and search for meaning. Our findings support that empathy lead to both positive and negative outcomes among hotline counselors during COVID-19 period in China, highlighting dialectical insights into trauma workers’ experiences. When counselors engage in others’ traumatic experience, their vicarious negative emotional experience may be a pathway to growth, and search for life meaning is an important factor in that growth. "
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Applied Psychology submitted time 2020-11-11
Abstract： Based on a new conceptual frame of mental health literacy (MHL), which refers to two structural dimensions including “coping with mental illness–mental health promotion” and “self–others” and three aspects including knowledge, attitude, and behavior tendency, a systematic nationwide sampling survey was conducted for the purpose of understanding the mental health literacy profile of the Chinese. This study further explored the influences of four group variables (geographical and gross domestic product (GDP) distribution, basic demographic variables, socio-economic status, and mental health background) on mental health literacy. Another aim of this study was to provide some strategies for improving mental health literacy more effectively. The Chinese Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire and Basic Background Information Questionnaire were used to assess the mental health literacy levels of the Chinese and their influencing factors. The Chinese Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire contains six sub-scales (knowledge and concepts related to mental health, knowledge and concepts related to mental illness, attitudes and behavior tendency to maintain and promote one’s mental health, attitudes and behavior tendency to cope with one's mental illness, attitudes and behavior tendency to maintain and promote the mental health of others, and attitudes and behavior tendency to cope with the mental illness of others). The questionnaires were administered to 8866 Chinese adults in nine cities (Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Lishui, Kaifeng, Guilin, Zhangye, Baoding, and Linfen), which covered the well-developed, developing, and less-developed regions in China. With a balanced development considering geographical and GDP distribution, the results indicated that the mental health literacy levels among adults in different cities were low to moderate. Their influences on mental health literacy were small but significant with respect to geographical distribution, gender, age, familiarity with professional mental health service, and the frequency of contact with psychiatric patients. Regarding the structure of mental health literacy, the results of the development of national mental health literacy demonstrated that mental health maintenance and promotion literacy was better than mental illness coping literacy, and self-help literacy was better than helping others literacy. The survey found that the knowledge had relatively high individual differences, whereas attitudes and behaviors had relatively low individual differences concerning the contents of the mental health literacy. In addition, among the social influencing factors of mental health literacy this research tested, the socio-economic status was the most effective one, which showed large effect size in the knowledge and small to medium effect size in the attitudes and behavior tendency. These findings implicate that (1) improving mental health literacy is an arduous task; (2) improving the literacy of coping with mental illness should be the focus and breakthrough point of the current practice of mental health literacy promotion; (3) socio-ecological perspective should be adopted when developing a mental health literacy promotion policy; and (4) the mechanism of the attitude and behavior tendency change needs to be explored and clarified. "
Subjects: Psychology >> Clinical and Counseling Psychology submitted time 2020-07-03
Abstract： " "
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
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