Social-Emotional Learning Competencies and Problematic Internet Use among Chinese Adolescents: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Abstract

To advance the understanding about social-cognitive factors related to Chinese adolescents’ experience with problematic Internet use (PIU), we examined the associations between social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies (i.e., responsible decision-making, social awareness, self-management, self-awareness, and social relationship) and problematic Internet use (PIU) among 1141 11th grade high school students from Southwest China. Through comparing the latent means of PIU across students with different demographic background (i.e., gender, social-economic status, left-behind status), the study found that male students endorsed higher levels of overall PIU and more problematic time management with Internet use than female students. No latent PIU mean differences were observed across family income and students’ left-behind status. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) while controlling for demographic factors, overall SEL competencies were found to have a significantly negative association with PIU. Meanwhile, all five SEL domains were also negatively associated with students’ PIU. The findings imply the importance of fostering SEL competencies in preventing PIU among Chinese adolescents. The study provides important practical implications for informing school-based SEL competencies programs for PIU prevention among Chinese youths.

Associations between school-wide practices and school-wide bullying: Advancing the cross-country understanding of teachers’ perspectives from the U.S. and China.

“…Thus, these two scales’ latent means of teachers’ perception of the three types of school-wide practices and school-wide bullying cannot be compared. The lack of intercept-level measurement invariance of the DDTS-T and SWBS found in the present study was consistent with previous studies, in which factors contributing to the cross-country differences of school disciplinary and SEL practices and the bullying phenomenon were discussed (Bear et al, 2016; Chen et al, 2021). For example, researchers found that punitive practices, such as school removals, were less common in China than in the United States because it is inconsistent with the cultural value of social harmony and self-discipline that is highly prized in the Chinese culture, consistent with the Confucian value (Crystal et al, 1994; Hui et al, 2011).…”

“…Although researchers and policymakers have recognized the school-wide Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS) programs and social and emotional learning (SEL) programs as promising school-wide practices to prevent and reduce bullying in the United States and some other Western countries in the past decade (Good et al, 2011; Smith & Low, 2013), we have a minimal understanding of how the critical factors related to these commonly used school-wide practices universally and uniquely influence bullying prevention outcomes in schools beyond North America and the larger global context. Such cross-country understanding is essential for developing and adapting effective evidence-based school-wide bullying prevention practices and programs across different cultural contexts and school systems in different countries, especially considering that cross-country differences in school-wide practices and bullying phenomenon have been evidenced in the research literature (Bear et al, 2016; Chen et al, 2021).…”

Perceived school climate and adolescent behaviors among Chinese adolescents: Mediating effect of social‐emotional learning competencies

“…However, although previous studies showed that school climate played an important role in Chinese adolescents' behaviors (e.g., Bear et al, 2018; Li et al, 2016; Nie et al, 2018), few studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying the relationship between perceived school climate and adolescent behavioral outcomes, particularly in Chinese culture context. While, social‐emotional learning (SEL) is regarded as general psychosocial competence in positive youth development (PYD) that is applicable across contexts and developmental stages (Shek et al, 2019; Tolan et al, 2016), and it has attracted great interest in the education systems in Western societies (Chen et al, 2021; Wu et al, 2016). However, SEL competencies are generally not valued in schools in mainland China due to the morbid emphasis on academic excellence.…”

Exploring the Associations between Social Media Addiction and Depression: Attentional Bias as a Mediator and Socio-Emotional Competence as a Moderator

“…The findings from previous studies suggest a relationship between socio-emotional skills and problematic Internet use [ 36 ]. Self-control, impulsivity, and social skills were among the cognitive factors that predicted problematic Internet use and fit the concept of socio-emotional competences.…”

“…Self-control, impulsivity, and social skills were among the cognitive factors that predicted problematic Internet use and fit the concept of socio-emotional competences. Chen et al found that overall socio-emotional competencies have a significantly negative association with students’ problematic Internet use [ 36 ]. The findings from previous studies also suggest a relationship between socio-emotional skills and cyberbullying.…”