Abstract
Although loneliness and depressive symptoms are particularly prominent among migrant children and often occur simultaneously, little is known about the co-occurring and transitional nature of loneliness and depressive symptoms among migrant children, and the role of bullying victimization on their profiles and transitions. This study examined the profiles and transitions of loneliness and depressive symptoms among migrant children using latent profile analysis and latent transition analysis, as well as how bullying victimization predicted their profile memberships and transitions. A total of 692 migrant children (55.3% males, Mage = 9.41, SD = 0.55, range = 8 to 12 years old at T1) participated in both two waves of the study over six months. The results indicated that low profile (59.2%), moderate profile (22.0%), moderately high profile (14.3%), and high profile (4.5%) were identified at Time 1; low profile (69.4%), predominantly loneliness profile (16.8%), predominantly depressive symptoms profile (6.5%), and high profile (7.3%) were identified at Time 2. Migrant children in at-risk profiles displayed varying degrees of transition. Migrant children experiencing more bullying victimization were more likely to belong or transition to at-risk profiles. The findings highlight the importance of subgroup differences considerations in understanding the co-occurring and transitional nature of loneliness and depressive symptoms, as well as the predictive role of bullying victimization, informing effective strategies for prevention and intervention.
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This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant Number: 20BSH067).
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YL conceived of the study, participated in its design, collected data, performed the statistical analysis, and coordination and drafted the manuscript; QW conceived of the study, performed the statistical analysis and helped to draft the manuscript; JC conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript; YZ conceived of the study, performed the statistical analysis and coordination and helped to drafted the manuscript; SL conceived of the study and helped to draft the manuscript; MX conceived of the study and performed the statistical analysis; PR conceived of the study, participated in its design, collected data, and coordination and draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Liang, Y., Wang, Q., Chen, J. et al. Profiles and Transitions of Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms among Migrant Children: Predictive Role of Bullying Victimization. J. Youth Adolescence 52, 2606–2619 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01847-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01847-x