Yuan Yuan Wang

• PhD in Psychology
• Professor at South China Normal University

Young adults with childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are an especially vulnerable group to suicide. Suicide encompasses different phases, but for CSA survivors the salient factors precipitating suicide are rarely studied. In this study, from a progressive perspective of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB), we aim to identify distinct risk factors for p...

Childhood trauma (CT) is a significant public health concern. The relationship between different CT patterns and suicidality remains largely undiscovered. The current study aims to identify distinct CT overlapping patterns and to explore their association with suicidality in a comprehensive multivariable context. Participants were 23,721 young adul...

Previous studies have explored the associations between parental and offspring’s depression and parent-child communication. However, few studies have investigated their symptomatic associations and potential sex differences. Therefore, this study aims to examine their associations and sex differences in parents and offspring. Based on the China Fam...

Background Childhood trauma (CT) increases rates of psychiatric disorders and symptoms, however, the lasting effect of CT into adulthood has little exploration using large-scale samples. Objectives This study estimated the prevalence of CT in a large sample of Chinese young adults, examining the risk factors of current psychological symptoms among...

The impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits on suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) remains inadequately explored. Hence, the present study aims to delve deeper into these intricate issues, contributing to a better understanding of these complex challenges among Chinese youth. The data o...

Introduction It remains unclear whether depressive symptoms are associated with increased all-cause mortality and to what extent depressive symptoms are associated with chronic disease and all-cause mortality. The study aims to explore the relationship between depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality, and how depressive symptoms may, in turn, af...

This cross-sectional study assesses the adequacy of gender-neutral public restrooms and examines the association of public restroom–related stress with mental health among gender-diverse individuals in China.

Background Gender dysphoria is associated with suicidality among transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people. Gender dysphoria also results in a stress on appearance. Aims The objectives of this study were to examine: (a) whether appearance anxiety mediates the effect of gender dysphoria on suicidality; and (b) whether gender identity moderates th...

Background Cognitive decline is prevalent among older adults, often resulting in decreased capabilities for self-care and a diminished quality of life. Mahjong, a culturally cherished and extensively played intellectual game in China, demands considerable cognitive function. While the cognitive benefits of playing Mahjong have been widely accepted,...

Existing literature has reported negative parental attitudes toward LGBTQ+ individuals associated with their LGBTQ+ identity concealment and mental well-being. However, limited research has explored the dynamic network changes using intensive, repeated weekly diary data. This study aimed to model the associations between perceived parental attitude...

Importance: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a significant mental health issue requiring a deeper understanding of its underlying causes, such as childhood maltreatment, adult bullying victimization, and depression. Previous studies have not adequately addressed the cumulative risks of these factors on NSSI among college students. This population...

Purpose of review The assumption has been made that urbanization adversely affects mental health, primarily attributed to the lack of access to nature. Our objective is to examine whether nature-based interventions can reduce psychopathology within an urban setting. Recent findings Nature-based interventions are generally categorized as either phy...

Background Digital self‐harm (DiSH) is a recently identified self‐harm distinct from physical self‐harm (PSH, also known as non‐suicidal self‐injury, NSSI). Although prior research has shown that DiSH was associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), it was still unclear whether DiSH has a unique association with STBs after controlling fo...

Background Studies have investigated how adults with severe depressive symptoms are more likely to attempt suicide, and these adults often have traumatic experiences and chaotic sleep/wake rhythms. Thus, this study using Latent class analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood trauma class, chronotype, and suicide attempts amon...

Parent-child transmission of suicidal behaviors has been extensively studied, but the investigation of a three-generation family suicide risk paradigm remains limited. In this study, we aimed to explore the behavioral and brain signatures of multi-generational family history of suicidal behaviors (FHoS) in preadolescents, utilizing a longitudinal d...

Background Previous studies have frequently reported a high prevalence of co-occurring anxiety and depression among people who experienced stressful events in childhood. However, few have noted the symptomatic relationship of this comorbidity among childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. Therefore, this study’s objectives were as follows: (1) to ex...

Objective: Childhood trauma has been identified as a risk factor for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (STBs), but the roles of different types of childhood trauma have not been clarified. The current study aimed to explore the association between different childhood trauma experiences and STB profiles. Method: The current study utilized data f...

Background The increase in tobacco/conventional cigarette (CC) and electronic cigarette (EC) usage among Chinese youth has become a growing public health concern. This is the first large-scale study to compare the impact of CC and EC usage on risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality in cis-heterosexual and sexual and gender minority...

Background: Previous empirical literature has examined the associations between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and smoking. However, few studies examined symptom-level associations between smoking and PTSD among CSA victims. Thus, the aims of this study were 1) to explore symptom-level associations bet...

Background China has a significant number of left-behind families. This study focuses on the long-term effects of childhood left-behind experience on different type of childhood trauma and mental health outcomes in later life development. Methods participants were 67 795 Chinese young adults. Psychosocial characteristics were screened by sleep qua...

Background Anxiety and sleep problems are common comorbidities among outpatients living in high-altitude areas. Network analysis is a novel method to investigate the interaction and the association between symptoms across diverse disorders. This study used network analysis to investigate the network structure symptoms of anxiety and sleep problems...

Background: Early childhood abuse is associated with adverse effects among young adults, especially social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study investigated socio-demographic correlates of SAD among youth exposed to childhood abuse and examined different regression models among male and female youth in three childhood abuse groups, i.e. emotional abu...

Unlabelled: Non-suicidal self-injury behavior (NSSI) is a serious public health concern that requires immediate attention. Despite the high prevalence of NSSI among the Chinese population, there is a significant gap in research on the comprehensive picture of this field. Therefore, a scoping review was conducted to investigate the prevalence, meth...

Background Previous studies have focused on the comorbidity of appearance anxiety and social anxiety, but few studies have focused on the protective role of self-compassion as underlying this mechanism, in young people like University students. With the increase of prevalence of appearance anxiety and social anxiety in this age group, it is necessa...

Background Bullying victimization is highly prevalent among sexual minority youths, particularly in educational settings, negatively affecting their mental health. However, previous studies have scarcely explored the symptomatic relationships among anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among sexual minority youths who experi...

BACKGROUND Bullying victimization is highly prevalent among sexual minority youths, particularly in educational settings, negatively affecting their mental health. However, previous studies have scarcely explored the symptomatic relationships among anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among sexual minority youths who experi...

Background Exposure to childhood trauma (CT) is associated with various deleterious mental health outcomes, increasing the risk of suicidal behaviors. The objective of this study is to investigate the different effects of three forms of CT, including emotional abuse (EA), physical abuse (PA), and sexual abuse (SA), on potential psychopathological s...

BACKGROUND The increase in tobacco/conventional cigarette (CC) and electronic cigarette (EC) usage among Chinese youth has become a growing public health concern. This is the first large-scale study to compare the impact of CC and EC usage on risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality in cis-heterosexual and sexual and gender minority...

Background LGBTQ+ community’s higher susceptibility to worse mental health outcomes and more help-seeking barriers compared to the cis-heterosexual population. Despite the LGBTQ+ population facing higher mental health risks, there has been a dearth of research focusing on developing tailored interventions targeting them. This study aimed to assess...

Importance: Younger adults in China who are transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) experience high levels of minority stress (eg, stigma and bullying) and adverse mental health symptoms. However, there is a lack of research documenting mental health disparities compared with their cisgender and heterosexua...

Abstract Background and aim Eating Disorders (ED) result in impaired well-being, but there exist an insufficient number of studies that have focused on the influence of sex and sexual orientation disparities within ED behaviors. Thus, we aimed to investigate ED behaviors among male and female adolescents with different sexual orientations in a scho...

Background: Individuals with gender dysphoria display an incongruence between birth-assigned gender and gender expression. However, there is no existing Chinese measure for gender dysphoria. Aims: This study aims to validate the Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale - Gender Spectrum (UGDS-GS) in a Chinese population, and compare the psychometric prope...

Objective Relevant research focusing on young adults with Unipolar Depression (UD) and Bipolar Depression (BD) is limited. The current research aims to investigate childhood trauma and personality traits in young adults with UD and BD. Methods Two hundred and thirty-five patients in a first depressive episode (diagnosed UD and BD), 16–25 years old...

Background Vietnamese female sex workers (VFSWs) cross the border into Kaiyuan City, Yunnan Province yearly. However, very little is known about both the health and psychological issues VFSWs experience. The objectives of this study were to explore the dominant discourses that emerged from the VFSWs’ talk. The interviews occurred between May 2018 a...

Background Incidences of social anxiety disorder (SAD), appearance anxiety, and eating disorders (ED) show an increased prevalence among young people. However, symptoms' associations between these disorders have not been investigated in depth. Network analysis is an approach that can be used to explain the relationship(s) between symptoms of differ...

Introduction The urban–rural household registration system in China has been documented with profound social consequences in almost all areas of people’s life. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanism of the rural and urban discrepancies on mental health conditions among a large sample of college students in China. Methods A survey...

Background: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is one of the prevalent forms of trauma experienced during childhood and adolescence. Previous research underscores its associations with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychosis. Objective: This study examined symptom connections between depression, anxiety, PTSD, and psycho...

Parent-child transmission of suicidal behaviors has been widely elucidated, while the three- generation family suicide risk paradigm remains to be explored. This longitudinal study thus aimed to examine the influences of family history of suicidality (FHoS) on offspring’s behavioral- and neuro- development outcomes among three-generation families.

Background Gambling appears to be an independent risk factor for suicide among the young population worldwide. Blind boxes are collectable toys packed randomly in the box, which share certain similarities with gambling and are popular among the young population. This is the first study that examined the association between blind box engagement and...

The Identification With All Humanity (IWAH) scale was designed to measure the extent to which an individual identifies oneself with all human beings. The current research aimed to conduct the validation of IWAH in a Chinese population and its convergent validity, as well as test the implications of IWAH in associations with help-seeking behaviour d...

Background and aims: Disordered eating leads to impaired well-being including physical health, psychosocial functions, and medical complications. There are insufficient studies have focused on the influence of sex and sexual orientation disparities on disordered eating. This study aimed to investigate disordered eating among male and female adolesc...

Background: This study aimed to understand the suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts among cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The data were collected from patients diagnosed with cancer while attending the largest cancer center in the south of China. A structured questionnaire was used to investigate patients' demographic d...

Background Parent-child transmission of suicidal behaviors has been widely elucidated, while the three-generation family suicide risk paradigm remains to be explored. This longitudinal study aimed to examine the influences of family history of suicidality (FHoS) among two prior generations on offspring’s neurodevelopment. Methods We conducted a re...

Background Compared to its cis-heterosexual counterpart, the sexual and gender minority (SGM) population is disproportionately susceptible to mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and minority stress. They are also facing unique help-seeking barriers when in need of support. Past research has shown promising results in using interv...

Background This study aimed to identify latent class profiles of sexual minority adolescents (Men Sexually attracted to Men, Women Sexually attracted to Women, and Bisexual) with elevated suicidal ideation. Methods Data were collected from 18 secondary schools in China. Sub-group classifications were identified using variables associated with suic...

Compared with the general population, people with HIV have an elevated risk of dying by suicide. 1 Although previous research has studied and investigated suicide mortality in people with HIV, there are insufficient relevant data focusing on the trend of suicide mortality in a large, representative sample on a national scale. In The Lancet HIV, Fan...

Transgender women are an important subgroup of the transgender umbrella and have their own unique gender identity. This article aimed to understand and measure the latent concept of gender identity among Chinese transgender women from a multi-dimensional perspective. Through a two-phase, iterative scale development process, we developed the Gender...

Backgrounds Various family factors have been identified in association with school bullying and the involvement of children and adolescents in bullying behaviors. Methods A total of 11,919 participants (female = 6671, mean age = 15) from 22 middle schools in Suzhou City, China completed the questionnaire. The associations between structural family...

Objective This randomized controlled study explored the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of executive function training (EFT) for preschool children with ADHD. Method The current study design was an 8 week randomized parallel groups, single-blinded trial, using EFT-P. A total of 96 children with an ADHD diagnosis at age 4 to 5 years old we...

Background : Research shows that childhood trauma has a detrimental impact on an individual's health, including suicidal ideation. In order to intervene with suicidal ideation, it is necessary to study the impact of childhood trauma on emotional and social functioning. This study explored the relationship between childhood trauma and suicidal ideat...

Transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals are at a high risk of adverse mental health outcomes due to minority stress—the stress faced by individuals categorised as stigmatised social minority groups. This systematic review sought to summarise the key mental health findings of the research on TGNC individuals in mainland China. We al...

Background This study aimed to identify patterns of attempted suicide methods and risk factors in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other gender/sexual minority (LGBTQ+) youth by comparing them to non-LGBTQ+ youth. Methods A total of 9281 Chinese college students completed the study, 8313 participants were included in the analysis of...

Background This is the first study to investigate the effect of parental psychological abuse on potential psychopathological symptoms in gender minority youth subgroups, including transgender women, transgender men, and gender queer individuals. Methods Data was analysed from the Chinese National Transgender Survey in 2017; the survey was distribu...

Background: Elderly people face particular challenges in their everyday lives, and these are likely to be caused by physical health, mental health, cognitive function, and lack of maintaining a connection to other people. This study aims to explore a meaningful measure of human connectedness among the elderly in rural China and to examine the exten...

Background Children with early onset of Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits are at a higher risk for long-term, persistent psychosocial problems. The current study aimed to explore the characteristics of CU in preschool children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the diagnostic significance of CU traits in ADHD. Methods A total o...

Background The number of individuals with potential gender dysphoria (GD) being referred to specialized gender identity clinics or programs is increasing internationally; these cases are initially screened using the Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults (GIDYQ-AA). Aim The current study aimed to assess the psych...

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is often associated with suicidal attempt (SA). Therefore, predicting the risk factors of SA would improve clinical interventions, research, and treatment for MDD patients. This study aimed to create a nomogram model which predicted correlates of SA in patients with MDD within the Chinese population. Meth...

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe psychiatric disorder that is often misdiagnosed and under-diagnosed in clinical settings. The 33-item Hypomania Checklist (HCL-33) is a newly developed self-administered scale for BD detection, while the 33-item Hypomania Checklist-external assessment (HCL-33-EA) is a version of the HCL-33 for external...

Background To examine the relationship between the main caregiver during the “doing-the-month” (a traditional Chinese practice which a mother is confined at home for 1 month after giving birth) and the risk of postpartum depression (PPD) in postnatal women. Methods Participants were postnatal women stayed in hospital and women who attended the hos...

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in a substantial workload and stress for frontline health professionals in high-risk areas. Little research has investigated the mechanism of occupational burnout among the frontline health professionals located in the center of the epidemic in Wuhan, China. Methods: A total o...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are associated with various psychiatric comorbidities. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in all subpopulations during the SARS and COVID-19 epidemics. A systematic literature search was conducted in...

Background This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with counselling and psychotherapy service use among Chinese sexual minority populations. Methods A nationwide cross-sectional study was performed using snowball sampling method, which led to the inclusion of 18,193 participants. Participants’ sociodemographic background, cli...

Background The Yunnan province is located near the “Golden Triangle” border region between China, Myanmar and Thailand, which has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in China. Female sex workers (FSWs) in the Yunnan province are highly vulnerable to HIV infection. The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of FSWs in the Yunnan to bette...

Background It is essential to investigate the experiences behind why adolescents start and continue to self-harm in order to develop targeted treatment and prevent future self-harming behaviours. Aims The aims of this study are to understand the motivations for initiating and repeating nonfatal self-harm, the different methods used between first-t...

Background: The number of new HIV infections has increased and implementation of school-based health education programs on AIDS have been advocated for a long time. Objective: This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of an intervention of HIV/AIDS on the knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention and control among first year university students. Met...

This is a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) monotherapy with active control treatment for insomnia in patients with medical or psychiatric comorbidities. Both international (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library) and Chinese (WanFang, and CNKI) databases were systema...

The current study investigated the mechanism and changes in psychopathology symptoms throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and after peak. Two studies were conducted separately in China during outbreak and the after peak stages, with 2540 participants were recruited from February 6 to 16, 2020, and 2543 participants were recruited from April 25 to May 5...

Background: Children with early onset of callous unemotional ( CU traits are at risk for long term, persistent psychosocial problems The current study aimed to explore the characteristics of CU in preschool children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD and the diagnostic significance of CU traits in ADHD. Method: A total of 227 pres...

Aims Compared to their heterosexual peers, youth who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) tend to suffer higher rates of peer victimisation from bullying. However, studies of LGB adolescents' participation as bullies are scarce. We aimed to examine the possible association of sexual minority identity and the heightened risk of not only being...

Background Abnormal thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) levels are observed in various autoimmune diseases. However, the relationship between TPOAb and pediatric acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (PADEM) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the positive rate of TPOAb and thyroid dysfunction in children with acute disseminated encepha...

Importance: Transgender or gender nonconforming (TGNC) adolescents face a wide range of physical and mental health concerns. However, there has been no school-based study to explore the prevalence and mental health status of these adolescents in mainland China. Objectives: To assess the mental well-being of TGNC adolescents in China by comparing...

There is an increasing prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in older adults in China, but the findings across prevalence studies have been mixed. This is the first meta-analysis of the prevalence of HIV infection and its moderating factors in older adults in China. Two investigators systematically and independently searched bo...

Objective Suicidal ideation (SI) among college students is frequently reported. However, the mediating role of depressive and anxiety symptoms between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and SI has yet to be explored among college students. Method A cross-sectional survey of college freshmen in China was conducted between Octo...

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in children and adolescents represent a global health crisis that has variable effects on children’s mortality and morbidity given the resources, attitudes and beliefs, and health-care treatment available in their country. In China, children and adolescents not only fa...

Background: Post-partum depression (PPD) is a growing mental health concern worldwide. There is little evidence in the Chinese context of the relationship between paternal PPD and maternal PPD. Given the growing global concerns this relationship requires further exploration. Methods: A survey was conducted with 950 total couples from March 2017...

Objective The outbreak of COVID-19 that commenced in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, has caused extensive public health concerns and posed substantial challenges to health professionals, especially for those in the center of the epidemic. The current study aimed to assess the prevalence, related factors, and mechanism of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)...