Effects of parenting style on depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and their comorbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown among 3117 Chinese junior high school students.

INTRODUCTION: Depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and comorbidity increased in junior high school students due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The objective of this study was to measure the impacts of parenting style on depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and their comorbidity in Chinese junior high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period. METHODS: An online survey was conducted in June 2020 among 3117 junior high school students from Shandong Province, China. The Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran scale was used to measure parenting styles. The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire scale and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale were used to measure depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted with SPSS 25.0 Version. RESULTS: 3117 junior school students enrolled in this study. The prevalence of depressive symptoms only, anxiety symptoms only, and comorbidity among junior high school students was 11.55 %, 5.29 %, and 22.97 %. Paternal over-protection was a risk factor not only for depressive symptoms only (OR = 1.075, 95 % CI = 1.020-1.134) but for anxiety symptoms only (OR = 1.090, 95 % CI = 1.016-1.170) and comorbidity (OR = 1.098, 95 % CI = 1.050-1.148). Paternal over-interference was a protective factor for depressive symptoms only (OR = 0.947, 95 % CI = 0.908-0.987) and comorbidity (OR = 0.953, 95 % CI = 0.921-0.986). However, maternal over-interference and over-protection were risk factors for depressive symptoms only (OR = 1.039, 95 % CI = 1.011-1.068). LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional study and the causal inferences could not be conducted. CONCLUSIONS: Junior high school students with poorer family environmental factors were more likely to suffer from the comorbidity of anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Decision-makers from the government, educational, and healthcare institutions should pay more attention to junior high school students at higher risk of mental disorders due to poor parenting styles. We should discuss family interventions in the future to prevent mental disorders in junior high school students.

The Relationship Between Negative Life Events and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated-Mediation Model.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether anxiety mediates the relationship between negative life events and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents and whether this mediating role is moderated through social support. Methods: The model consisted of an anonymous questionnaire survey of 506 Chinese adolescents (253 boys and 253 girls, mean age 15.11 years (SD = 1.83, range 11-18 years)). Self-designed questionnaires were used to collect demographic data. The frequency of NSSI, state anxiety, and social support degree of adolescents was assessed by the Adolescent Life Events Scale, the Chinese version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the social support scale, respectively. Results: Negative life events were significantly and positively correlated with anxiety and the frequency of NSSI, and anxiety was significantly and positively correlated with the frequency of NSSI. The positive association between negative life events and the frequency of NSSI among adolescents was mediated by anxiety after controlling for demographic variables. Furthermore, this mediated relationship was moderated by social support. Conclusion: Anxiety was a potential mechanism linking negative life events to NSSI in adolescents and low social support important risk factor for amplifying this indirect effect. Our findings provide an empirical basis for reducing NSSI in adolescents.

A mental health survey among young front-line clinicians in high-risk areas during the COVID-19 sporadic epidemic in China.

Background: The sporadic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic has placed enormous psychological stress on people, especially clinicians. The objective of this study was to examine depression, anxiety, quality of life (QOL), and related social psychological factors among young front-line clinicians in high-risk areas during the COVID-19 sporadic epidemic in China and to provide a reference for formulating reasonable countermeasures. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, demographic information, COVID-19-related questions, anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9), insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index, ISI), stress (Perceived Stress Scale-10, PSS-10), and QOL (World Health Organization Quality of Life-brief version, WHOQOL-BREF) were collected. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to test the relationships between anxiety and/or depression and other related problems. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the relationships among factors influencing QOL. Results: A total of 146 young front-line clinicians were included. The prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and anxiety-depression comorbidity were 37.7% (95% CI = 29.7-45.6%), 26.0% (95% CI = 18.8-33.2%), and 24.0% (95% CI = 17.0-31.0%), respectively. Severe stress (OR = 1.258, 95% CI = 1.098-1.442, P < 0.01) and insomnia (OR = 1.282, 95% CI = 1.135-1.447, P < 0.01) were positively correlated with depression. Severe stress (OR = 1.487, 95% CI = 1.213-1.823, P < 0.01) and insomnia (OR = 1.131, 95% CI = 1.003-1.274, P < 0.05) were positively correlated with anxiety. Severe stress (OR = 1.532, 95% CI = 1.228-1.912, P < 0.01) was positively correlated with anxiety-depression comorbidity. However, insomnia (OR = 1.081, 95% CI = 0.963-1.214, P > 0.05) was not correlated with anxiety-depression comorbidity. The belief that the vaccine will stop the COVID-19 pandemic (OR = 0.099, 95% CI = 0.014-0.715, P < 0.05) was negatively correlated with anxiety and anxiety-depression comorbidity (OR = 0.101, 95% CI = 0.014-0.744, P < 0.05). Severe stress (B = -0.068, 95% CI = -0.129 to -0.007, P < 0.05) and insomnia (B = -0.127, 95% CI = -0.188 to -0.067, P < 0.01) were negatively correlated with QOL. The belief that the vaccine could provide protection (B = 1.442, 95% CI = 0.253-2.631, P < 0.05) was positively correlated with QOL. Conclusions: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and even anxiety-depression comorbidity was high among young front-line clinicians in high-risk areas during the COVID-19 sporadic epidemic in China. Various biological and psychological factors as well as COVID-19-related factors were associated with mental health issues and QOL. Psychological intervention should evaluate these related factors and formulate measures for these high-risk groups.