BackgroundGiven the increasing elderly population worldwide, the identification of potential determinants of successful ageing is important. Many studies have shown that parenting style and mental resilience may influence mental health; however, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that underpin this relationship. The current study sought to explore the relationships among mental resilience, perceptions of parents’ parenting style, and depression and anxiety among community-dwelling elderly adults in China.MethodsIn total, 439 community-dwelling elderly Chinese adults aged 60–91 years completed the Personal and Parents’ Parenting Style Scale, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale.ResultsElderly adults whose parents preferred positive and authoritative parenting styles had higher levels of mental resilience and lower levels of depression and anxiety. Elderly adults parented in the authoritarian style were found to have higher levels of depression and anxiety, with lower mental resilience.ConclusionsThe findings of this study provide evidence related to successful ageing and coping with life pressures, and highlight the important effects of parenting on mental health. The results suggest that examination of the proximal determinants of successful ageing is not sufficient—distal factors may also contribute to the ‘success’ of ageing by modifying key psychological dispositions that promote adaptation to adversity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0308-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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BackgroundPerceived educational environment influences academic outcomes, such as academic achievement, students’ behaviors, well-being, socio-emotional adjustment and explicit self-esteem. Mindfulness is a set of skills that are beneficial to physical and mental health. Recently, it has been increasingly discussed about its usefulness in education, but little research has explored whether mindfulness can predict perceptions of educational environment. The aim of this study was to explore Chinese medical students’ perceptions of learning environment and their relationship with mindfulness.MethodsMedical students at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (N=431) completed the Chinese version of Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM-C) and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS-C). One year later, a subgroup of the cohort (N=231) completed the DREEM-C again. Independent-samples t-test, variance analysis, correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) were conducted.ResultsDREEM-C total and subscales scores were net positive, but with room for improvement. Perceptions differed in relation to gender, academic year, and age. KIMS-C scores correlated with DREEM-C scores. The predictive effect persisted 1 year later.ConclusionsMedical students had net-positive perceptions about their learning environment. Higher mindfulness scores were associated with greater satisfaction with the environment and this association showed persistence.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of human resource management (HRM) reforms on job-related well-being of academics in Chinese universities. It also tests the mediating effect of work intensification (WI) and affective commitment (AC), and the moderating effect of perceived organizational justice (OJ) on the HRM‒well-being relationship to understand the influence mechanisms and boundary conditions. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted in 25 Chinese universities, obtaining 638 usable questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as the analytical technique to examine the model fit and test hypotheses. Findings The findings reveal that the relationship of HRM and well-being is neither direct nor unconditional, and a win‒win scenario for both management and employee well-being is possible when organizations pursue HRM innovations. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this study are that data were collected at once and at a defined time, with no time lag being involved. In addition, all variables were self-reported. Practical implications Commitment-oriented HRM practices can create a win‒win scenario; when control-oriented HRM practices are necessary, managers should ensure OJ to offset their negative influence on employees. Originality/value This study is among the first to examine the impact of HRM on employee well-being in the context of Chinese higher education, contributing to the limited studies on HRM in Chinese public sector and the on-going debate on the nature of HRM in China.

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