title: Predictors of Stress Generation in Adolescents in Mainland China.
abstract: The current longitudinal study examined whether the personality vulnerabilities of self-criticism and dependency prospectively predicted stress generation in Chinese adolescents. Participants included 1,116 adolescents (588 girls and 528 boys), aged 15 to 18 years from rural, urban and ultra-urban mainland China. Participants completed self-report measures of personality, depressive and anxious symptoms and participated in a clinical interview assessing lifetime history of depression. The occurrence of negative life events was measured using a contextual-threat interview every 6-months for a total period of 18-months. Logistic regression analyses showed that after controlling for past depressive episodes and current depressive and anxious symptoms, self-criticism was prospectively associated with the occurrence of interpersonal stress generation, but not noninterpersonal stress generation. Dependency also predicted interpersonal stress generation, although only in girls and not boys. In line with previous Western findings, girls reported more interpersonal stress generation. Analyses across 3 levels of urbanization revealed several significant differences including higher reported interpersonal stress generation in urban girls than urban boys and overall higher levels of negative life events in ultra-urban youth. In sum, findings from the current study suggest that the stress generation process may be generalizable to Chinese youth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University at the Jewish General Hospital, Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, 4333 chemin de la Cote-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E4, Canada. claire.starrs@mail.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Claire J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Starrs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Tillett Hall, Livingston Campus, 53 Avenue E, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8040, USA.
authors.forename: John R Z
authors.initials: JRZ
authors.lastname: Abela
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Dr Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Zuroff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Dr Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada.
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amsel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Saint Joseph's University, 229 Post Hall, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19131, USA.
authors.forename: Josephine H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: Psychological Institute, Second Xiangya Medical College of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shuqiao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Psychological Institute, Second Xiangya Medical College of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiong Zhao
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology, Peking University Health Science Centre, Hua Yuan Bei Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100191, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Adolescents; Dependency; Self-criticism; Stress generation; Vulnerability