Birth cohort changes in anxiety levels among primary school students in China during 1995–2019: A cross-temporal meta-analysis

Sufei Xin; Liang Sheng; A-Yuan Zhang; Qian Su; Haiyun Peng; Yinghua Chen; Xiaojie Geng; Hui Liu

Acta Psychologica (Sep 2023)

Birth cohort changes in anxiety levels among primary school students in China during 1995–2019: A cross-temporal meta-analysis

Sufei Xin,
Liang Sheng,
A-Yuan Zhang,
Qian Su,
Haiyun Peng,
Yinghua Chen,
Xiaojie Geng,
Hui Liu

Affiliations

Sufei Xin: School of Educational Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for the Mental Health of Youth from the Era of Conversion of New and Old Kinetic Energy along the Yellow River Basin, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Liang Sheng: School of Educational Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for the Mental Health of Youth from the Era of Conversion of New and Old Kinetic Energy along the Yellow River Basin, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
A-Yuan Zhang: Department of Primary Education, Teachers' College, Beijing Union University, Beijing 100011, China; College of Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China; Correspondence to: A-Y. Zhang, Teachers' College, Beijing Union University, Beijing 100011, China.
Qian Su: Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing Guangming Primary School, Beijing 100061, China; Correspondence to: Q. Su, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Haiyun Peng: School of Educational Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for the Mental Health of Youth from the Era of Conversion of New and Old Kinetic Energy along the Yellow River Basin, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Yinghua Chen: Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, Beijing 100036, China
Xiaojie Geng: Beijing Dongcheng Academy of Educational Sciences, Beijing 100009, China
Hui Liu: College of Elementary Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 239
p. 103996

Abstract

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To investigate birth cohort changes in anxiety levels among primary school students in China, we conducted a cross-temporal meta-analysis of 126 studies (N = 109,957) reporting the anxiety levels among primary school students in China during 1995–2019 using the Mental Health Diagnostic Test (MHT); higher MHT scores indicated higher anxiety. The results showed that: (1) The MHT scores for five types of mental health problems (social anxiety, lonely tendency, physical symptoms, terror tendency, and impulsive tendency) and the total MHT score were significantly negatively correlated with the data-collection year, indicating that the anxiety levels among primary school students in China decreased over time. (2) The MHT score for learning anxiety was significantly positively correlated with the data-collection year, indicating that the learning anxiety levels of primary school students in China increased over time. (3) The overall MHT score did not show significant gender differences, but gender-wise varying trends were observed in the types considered.

Published in Acta Psychologica

ISSN: 0001-6918 (Print); 1873-6297 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Philosophy. Psychology. Religion: Psychology
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/acta-psychologica

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