Li Hao

Abundant evidence has proved an association between peer victimization and problematic online game use. However, the underlying mechanisms of this relation are still under-investigated. Grounded in the ecological system theory, this study examined whether deviant peer affiliation and school connectedness mediated the association between peer victimization and adolescent POGU. A sample of 698 Chinese adolescents completed questionnaires regarding peer victimization, problematic online game use, DPA, and school connectedness, of which 51.58% were boys. Path analyses indicated that peer victimization was positively associated with problematic online game use, and this link could be mediated by deviant peer affiliation and school connectedness. The findings identify the potential underlying mechanism by which peer victimization is associated with adolescent problematic online game use, which has important implications for theory and prevention.

As an increasingly serious social problem, Internet gaming disorder of college students may be related to their social self-efficacy. However, the relationship and its internal mechanisms underlying are still unclear. The current study tested the mediating effect of alexithymia in the association between social self-efficacy and IGD, and whether this mediating process was moderated by empathy. Social Self-Efficacy Scale, Chinese version of Internet Game Addiction Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Interpersonal Response Scale were adopted to examine the model on 888 Chinese college students. The results indicated that social self-efficacy was significantly negatively associate with IGD. Mediation analysis illustrated that alexithymia mediated the association between social self-efficacy and IGD. Further, moderated mediation analysis manifested that the mediated effects was stronger for lower level of empathy. The conclusions corroborate and clarify the mechanisms that alexithymia mediated the association between social self-efficacy and IGD, and the mediation effects is moderated via empathy. Besides, these findings provide available references for colleges to conduct educational activities, and at the same time provide scientific suggestions for preventing IGD among undergraduates.

The prevalence of mobile phone addiction has increased rapidly in recent years, and it has had a certain negative impact on emotions and cognitive capacities. At the level of neural circuits, the continued increase in activity in the brain regions associated with addiction leads to neural adaptations and structural changes. At present, the spontaneous brain microstates that could be negatively influenced by MPA are unclear. In this study, the temporal characteristics of four resting-state electroencephalogram microstates related to mobile phone addiction tendency were investigated using the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale. We attempted to analyze the correlation between MPAT and corresponding microstates and provide evidence to explain the brain and behavioral changes caused by MPA. The results showed that the total score of the MPATS was positively correlated with the duration of MS1, related to phonological processing and negatively correlated with the duration of MS2, related to visual or imagery processing, and MS4, related to the attentional network; the score of the withdrawal symptoms subscale was additionally associated with duration of MS3, related to the cingulo-opercular emotional network. Based on these results, we believe that MPAT may have some negative effects on attentional networks and sensory brain networks; moreover, withdrawal symptoms may induce some negative emotions.

Though genome editing is a powerful technology, germline GE engineering is strongly objectionable for a huge ethical challenge. The after-effects of the genome-edited babies incident have been emerging in China, whether technology or ethics. It is very noticeable that the case has been adverse effects on the application of GE technology in other fields, especially in GE crops. After the incident, research and development of GE crops was affected obviously. It is clear that GE crops and other basic research and application related to GE technology should be encouraged and should not be treated differently. An ethically acceptable development route of GE technology needs to be established in China.