Research on the socialization of gifted adolescents yields inconsistent findings, and potential heterogeneity within this population has rarely been examined. This study is aimed at qualitatively examining how gifted adolescents perceive their close friendship. We conducted semistructured interviews with 31 French gifted adolescents (11 girls and 20 boys) enrolled in middle school and analyzed the transcripts using descending hierarchical lexical analysis with IRaMuTeQ. Five distinct friendship experiences emerged: ambivalent (marked by tensions between identification/differentiation and support/competition); emotionally uninvested (characterized by low affective engagement); supportive (involving mutual aid and sharing outside school); school‐based (a secure and structuring bond anchored in the school setting); and fraternal (with strong emotional closeness modeled on sibling relationships). These configurations were associated with gender, age, grade level, grade acceleration and friend status (as best vs. close friend). Across configurations, perceived friendship quality varied with relational dimensions (warmth vs. opposition), emotional intensity, spatiotemporal context, and identity processes. Although most participants described meaningful and functional bonds with their close friend, they reported difficulties primarily in classroom contexts. This finding underscores the value of a more comprehensive analysis of friendship networks.
This study investigated the relationship between latent classes of adolescents′ street code and their social adaptation, with a particular focus on the mediating role of perceived social adversity and gender differences. A total of 911 junior high school students (52.90% boys; M age = 13.05, SD = 0.76) from a city in Anhui Province, China, completed street code questionnaire, the Perceived Social Adversity Scale, and the Social Adaptation Scale. The results revealed that (1) adolescents were categorized into five latent classes of street code adherence: nonadherence group (35%), marginal adherence group (22%), situational adherence group (17%), active adherence group (19%), and high adherence group (7%). Gender‐specific analyses indicated that all five classes were retained among boys, whereas only three classes—nonadherence group, situational adherence group, and active adherence group—were identified among girls. (2) Using the nonadherence group as the reference, perceived social adversity mediated the relationship between street code classes and social adaptation in the overall model. Further gender‐stratified analyses demonstrated that perceived social adversity mediated the association between the active adherence group and social adaptation among girls, whereas no significant mediating effect was observed among boys. These findings underscore the mediating role of perceived social adversity in the link between adolescents′ street code adherence and social adaptation, with notable gender differences. Interventions aimed at enhancing social adaptation should consider gender‐specific implications.
In recent years, the application of attachment theory in nursing education has attracted increasing attention. Despite the growing use of bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace in literature analysis, there have been no prior studies combining these methods to investigate this specific research area. This study includes a bibliometric analysis of articles related to attachment theory and nursing education published between January 1, 1981, and January 28, 2025. Data were retrieved from five major databases: Embase, Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science. The analysis examined publication trends, contributing countries and institutions, research disciplines, and frequently used keywords. Results indicated that most publications originated from the United States, with Radboud University Nijmegen being the leading institution. Research primarily focused on fields such as nursing, educational sciences, psychiatry, healthcare services, and public health. Common keywords included attachment, adolescents, mental health, peer attachment, and self‐esteem. The study underscores the increasing relevance of attachment theory in nursing education and highlights the need for further interdisciplinary research that expands beyond the scope of medical education.
As future contributors to innovation and economic growth, college students represent a key investment in national human capital and long-term development. Perceived stress and self-esteem are directly linked to healthy growth and human capital accumulation among college students globally. However, existing literature remains unclear about the direction of the relationship between perceived stress and self-esteem, which leads to a lack of empirical basis for targeted interventions. The present study empirically examines the bidirectional relationship between perceived stress and self-esteem among Chinese college students (mean age = 21.55 years) using a two-wave cross-lagged model. Correlation analysis results indicate a stable and significant negative correlation between perceived stress and self-esteem. Results of the cross-lagged model reveal a bidirectional negative predictive relationship between perceived stress and self-esteem among college students within the context of Chinese educational culture. Higher perceived stress levels among Chinese college students are a significant predictor of subsequent reductions in self-esteem, while diminished self-esteem is also a significant predictor of subsequent increases in perceived stress. This deepens the understanding of the relationship between perceived stress and self-esteem, offering actionable insights for refining educational intervention strategies.
Regulatory flexibility, the ability to adapt emotion regulation strategies to contextual demands, is considered a key component of adaptive functioning, yet its developmental emergence in childhood remains insufficiently understood. The present two-study investigation examined whether children exhibit context-sensitive (adult-like) patterns of regulatory strategy selection and how individual differences shape this pattern. In Study 1, we developed and validated a set of ecologically relevant stimuli varying in emotional intensity among 10-12-year-old children (N = 30). In Study 2 (N = 58), children selected between cognitive reappraisal and distraction in response to low- and high-intensity situations. Results indicated a context-sensitive pattern of regulatory selection, reflected in greater use of reappraisal in low-intensity contexts and distraction in high-intensity contexts. This pattern reflects a stimulus-driven operationalization of regulatory flexibility, defined as a systematic association between emotional intensity and strategy choice. Furthermore, individual differences were associated with variability in this pattern: Higher academic achievement was linked to a more pronounced context-sensitive profile, whereas higher anxiety was associated with reduced use of reappraisal in low-intensity contexts. These findings suggest that context-sensitive regulatory selection is evident in late childhood and is shaped by cognitive and emotional characteristics.
