Future

Youth excessive screen time and mental health challenges continue to be a public health concern. Guided by a social cognitive theoretical framework, this study explored the utility of using natural language processing (NLP) topic modeling and qualitative triangulation for understanding how youth-related experiences described in subreddit posts described mental wellbeing from 2017 to 2025 with most of the posts created during the COVID-19 pandemic and afterwards. The study includes 202 r/Teenagers subreddit posts. All posts (n = 202) were analyzed qualitatively, with a subset of these posts that had body text (n = 133) analyzed using topic modeling. A natural language processing latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) was performed to analyze the social media posts and generate topics that represent the social media data, with exploratory input from ChatGPT. In addition, the data were analyzed using qualitative open coding in order to compare the LDA results with the qualitative open coding results. The NLP analysis identified seven topics based on coherence scores and the qualitative open coding yielded three emergent themes. Both the NLP and qualitative analyses revealed overlapping topics/themes pertaining to: (1) online school was challenging and youth needed personal connection with others, (2) youth wanted friends and appeared to use screens for social connection, and (3) youth valued creative activities, such as playing games to foster social connection. This research demonstrates the benefits and limitations of using natural language processing topic modeling for analyzing unstructured text data. It also provides important information regarding the usage of screens and youth mental health challenges.

This study investigated associations between perceived school climate and multiple forms of peer bullying involvement (as victims, perpetrators, and bystanders) among early adolescents in China and identified distinct profiles of bullying involvement using a person-centered latent class approach. Participants were 2753 junior high school students recruited from two secondary schools in Susong County, southwestern Anhui Province. Self-report data were collected using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ), the Student Bystander Behavior Scale (SBBS), and the Chinese version of the Delaware School Climate Survey. Sociodemographic characteristics were included as covariates in all regression models. Statistical analyses comprised multivariate binary logistic regression and latent class analysis (LCA). More positive perceptions of school climate were significantly associated with lower odds of self-reported bullying victimization and perpetration, as well as higher odds of victim-defending bystander behavior. Among the eight school climate dimensions, classmate relationship showed the strongest negative associations with verbal, physical, and social bullying victimization, whereas bullying on campus was the most consistent correlate of lower odds of bullying perpetration and assisting bystander behavior. LCA identified three distinct profiles of bullying involvement: a high bullying involvement class (3.02%), a moderate victimization–low perpetration class (66.47%), and a low bullying involvement class (30.51%). School climate dimensions were significantly associated with latent class membership; more favorable perceptions of bullying on campus were associated with lower odds of membership in the high bullying involvement profile relative to the low involvement profile, whereas positive classmate relationships and respect for diversity were associated with membership in the moderate victimization–low perpetration profile. These findings align with the ecological systems perspective that school microsystem factors are related to adolescent bullying experiences and suggest the potential utility of multi-dimensional school climate improvement strategies for targeted bullying prevention.

Japan’s Basic Policy for Child Health and Development emphasizes the need to enhance parenting support for fathers. This study aims to evaluate fathers’ needs and satisfaction with the parenting environment and to explore associated variables, while comparing these aspects with those of mothers. This was a secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional needs survey conducted in 2018 in Fukushima City. We analyzed data from 2085 mothers and 130 fathers who were primary caregivers. The proportion of those who rated their satisfaction with the parenting environment and support as moderate or high was 60.6% of mothers and 63.8% of fathers. Among fathers, only financial difficulty was significantly associated with satisfaction level, whereas among mothers, low satisfaction was associated with having a child in lower grades of elementary school, being a single parent, lacking parenting confidence, struggling financially, lacking access to someone for childcare advice and assistance, and being unable to use after-school children’s clubs. Overall, we found that over one-third of fathers reported low satisfaction with the parenting environment, which was associated with financial difficulties. Government measures are recommended to further address the multifaceted needs of fathers while considering financial support as a potential key component.