Competition between the positive youth development and the psychopathological system among adolescents: less vulnerability or more scarring?

ABSTRACT:

Background

The alleviating effect of positive youth development (PYD) on psychopathological symptoms (PS) represents the less vulnerability hypothesis, while the damaging effect of PS on PYD represents the competitional hypothesis or the scar hypothesis. This study aims to explore which hypothesis is more dominant and which component of PYD plays the central role across developmental stages and environmental adversity.

Method

Two longitudinal waves of 40,473 Chinese adolescents (48.4% girls, M_age = 12.67 ± 2.28) were analysed via a cross-lagged network panel model.

Results

The results showed that competition indeed exists between the PYD and PS systems, while the alleviating effect of the PYD is greater than the damaging effect of the PS system, but less th

SUBMITTER: Huang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12699124 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature