Xianchen Liu

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among adolescents following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China

This study examined the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression among 2,250 adolescents 6 months after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. Results showed that 15.8%, 40.5%, and 24.5% of participants reported clinical symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, respectively. Posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression were highly comorbid. Risk factors for symptoms of the 3 disorders were female gender, older age, and earthquake disaster exposure. In addition, the interaction effects of residence (urban/rural) and number of siblings of study subjects on symptoms of the 3 disorders were examined. Implications of findings on intervention and prevention of mental health problems among adolescents after experiencing earthquake disasters are discussed.

Sleep duration, insomnia and behavioral problems among Chinese adolescents

This study examined the associations among sleep duration, insomnia, and behavioral problems in a sample of 1359 Chinese adolescents. Participants completed a self-administrated questionnaire that included questions on sleep duration and insomnia symptoms and the Youth Self-Report of Child Behavior Checklist. It was found that adolescents who complained of insomnia reported sleep duration only half an hour shorter than did those without insomnia. Sleep duration did not differ among adolescents reporting three different types of insomnia (difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and early morning awakening). Adolescents with insomnia reported more behavioral problems than did those without complaints of insomnia. After adjustment for age and sex, sleep duration of less than 7 h a day was significantly associated with most behavioral problems in those without complaints of insomnia but with only a few behavioral problems in adolescents reporting insomnia. Results suggest that sleep duration in adolescents with insomnia is short, but not as short as reported in previous clinical studies. Insomnia and short sleep duration are associated with a wide range of behavioral and emotional problems in adolescents.

Coping strategies and behavioral/emotional problems among Chinese adolescents

This study was carried out to describe strategies used to cope with stress and to explore the association between coping strategies and behavioral/emotional problems in a community sample of adolescents from Mainland China. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire incorporating the Chinese Trait Coping Style Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Youth Self-Report of Child Behavior Checklist, and a number of demographic questions. Results indicated that Chinese adolescents often used multiple coping strategies when faced with stress. Principal factor analysis followed by oblique rotation revealed two dimensions of coping strategies in Chinese adolescents: active coping and avoidant coping. A series of logistic regression analyses showed that avoidant coping was significantly associated with increased risk for internalizing and externalizing problems, but active coping was associated with reduced risk, after adjustment for childs age and sex and fathers occupation. These findings provide evidence of the association between coping and mental health problems in Chinese adolescents.

Implications of Parental Suicide and Violent Death for Promotion of Resilience of Parentally-Bereaved Children

This article considers the implications of suicide and violent deaths (including suicide, homicide, and accidents) for the development of interventions for parentally bereaved children. Analyses of data from the Family Bereavement Program find minimal differences in childrens mental health problems, grief or risk and protective factors based on cause of parental death. In addition, cause of death did not substantially affect the relations between risk and protective factors and bereaved childrens outcomes. It is concluded that cause of death from violence or suicide is not a very useful indicator of bereaved childrens need for or likelihood of benefiting from an intervention.

Cigarette smoking, life stress, and behavioral problems in Chinese adolescents☆

This study investigated a sample of 1360 Chinese adolescents. About 31% of boys and 3.7% of girls reported ever smoking. Smokers experienced more life stress than nonsmokers. Smoking was associated with increased risk for internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems, but the association was markedly reduced after controlling for life stress

Age and gender differences in behavioral problems in Chinese children: Parent and teacher reports

This study examined age and gender differences in internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems in a large sample of Chinese children aged 6-15 (N=4472). The Chinese Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher Report Form (TRF) were used to assess these problems. Results showed that boys were scored higher than girls on externalizing problems by both parents and teachers, while girls were rated higher than boys on somatic problems by teachers. Parent reported externalizing problems tended to decline with age but there was no age effect on internalizing problems except slight increases with age on somatic problems. Older children tended to have higher scores than younger children on anxious and somatic problems as reported by teachers, while aggressive problems showed quadratic association with age, declining until age 10 and thereafter increasing. Parents and teachers tended to report more consistently with boys on externalizing problems but less consistently with boys on anxious and somatic syndromes. Directions for future research were provided.