Associations between Mental Health Outcomes and Adverse Childhood Experiences and Character Strengths among University Students in Southern China

Adverse childhood experiences(ACEs)can negatively affect mental health,whereas character strengths seem to be positively correlated with mental health.Detailed information on the history of ACEs among university students in China and the extent which mental health is associated with ACEs and character strengths can contribute to the needed empirical evidence for relevant stakeholders.Objectives of this study are 1)to estimate the prevalence of ACEs among undergraduate students in Southern China;and 2)to assess the extent which mental health outcomes(positive growth,well-being,and depression)are associated with ACEs and character strengths among undergraduate students in Southern China.We conducted a self-administered survey amongfirst and second-year students at a university in Southern China and analyzed data using descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses.Among the 779 students who completed the questionnaire,283 were males,439 were females,and 57 did not indicate their gender.The prevalence of ACEs among the participants was 32.1%.History of ACEs was associated with lower positive growth score(Adjusted Beta=-0.20;95%CI=-0.37,-0.02;p=0.030)and lower well-being score(Adjusted Beta=-1.13;95%CI=-2.04,-0.23;p=0.014).Vitality domain of character strength was associated with all three mental health outcomes after adjusting for covariables(all p-values<0.001).Our studyfindings provide empirical evidence for stakeholders in university mental health.However,caveats regarding lack of temporality,selection bias,social desirability bias,and lack of generalizability should be considered in the interpretation of the studyfindings.

Determinants of Positive Mental Health in Adolescents–A Cross-Sectional Study on Relationships between Positive Mental Health, Self-Esteem, Character Strengths and Social Inclusion

Adolescence is a crucial time period with especial vulnerability for development of mental health problems.Growing interest is focusing on the determinants of positive mental health in order to find the key concepts that could be influenced in the promotion of mental well-being of adolescents.In this study we aim to explore the relations between self-esteem,character strengths and experience of social inclusion as determinants of adolescents’positive mental health controlled for selected sociodemographic background factors.The study population(n=195)consisted of comprehensive school students who filled in an electronic questionnaire of adolescent’s mental well-being in Fall 2019.The questionnaire included measures of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale(WEMWBS),VIA Youth-measure 96,Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Experience of Social Inclusion Scale.The methods included group comparisons and General Linear Model computed by SPSS 24.0.The strongest association was found between positive mental health and self-esteem(β=0.789,p<0.001),followed by character strengths of hope and kindness and experience of social inclusion.Interestingly,family’s socioeconomic factors did not associate significantly with positive mental health in the final statistical model.In terms of our results,it seems that self-esteem,character strengths and experience of social inclusion might have stronger association with adolescents’mental well-being than family’s socioeconomic determinants.Therefore,it should be discussed whether psychological determinants overcome the individual effect of poor socioeconomic status as factors that influence positive mental health.Further studies are needed to establish these results more firmly.

Progress in the evaluation tool of Character Strengths and its application in nursing staff

Character Strengths is a group of positive personality traits reflected through cognition,behavior,and emotion,which play a positive role in improving happiness,alleviating negative emotions,and maintaining physical and mental health.This article reviews the concept,content,methods,evaluation tools,and application progress of Character Strengths in nurses,so as to provide a reference for clinical managers and improve the quality of life,mental health,and professional satisfaction of n urses.

Effects of Cooling Rate and Component on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Mg–Zn–Y Alloys

The microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–6Zn–1Y and Mg–6Zn–3Y（wt%） alloys under different cooling rates were investigated. The results show that the second dendrite arm spacing（SDAS） of Mg–6Zn–1Y and Mg–6Zn–3Y is reduced by 32 and 30% with increasing cooling rates（Rc） from 10.2 to 23 K/s, which can be predicted using a empirical model of SDAS=68 R 0：45：45cand SDAS=73 R 0c, respectively. The compressive strength of both alloys increases with increasing the cooling rate, which is attributed to the increase of volume fraction（Vf） of secondary phases under high cooling rate. The interaction of the cooling rate and component with SDAS has been theoretically analyzed using interdependence theory.

Compression curve analysis and compressive strength measurement of brittle granule beds in lieu of individual granule measurements

Powders in granulated form are used in various processes to facilitate convenient usage. The durability of the formed granules is a crucial parameter, typically evaluated by the compressive strength of the gran- ules. However, especially for granules with a diameter in the order of tens of microns, statistically relevant testing of individual granules is not a feasible alternative, and in such cases uniaxial bed compression is required. There has not been consensus on whether uniaxial compression of a granule bed can be used to study the fracture of micron size or brittle granules. In our case study of a bed of sintered kaolinite granules with diameters under 100 μm, we show how the compressive strength of individual granules can be obtained from the compressive measurement of the entire bed by plotting the relative density versus the logarithmic pressure scale. We compressed the kaolinite powder with different loads; microscopy confirmed that below the ana- lyzed strength the granules are intact, though the granules start to fracture in the curved region on the compression curve. We found that angle-fitting can be used to locate the average compressive strength on the compression curve and to follow the evolution of strength with sintering temperature. The experi- ments in unison demonstrate that compression curve analysis is applicable for strength analysis of brittle granules.