Special Issues

Psychological and Neural Foundations of Adolescent Mental Health

Submission Deadline: 01 July 2026 View: 266 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Prof. Dr. Yanling Liu

Email: ssq@swu.edu.cn

Affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, Research Center of Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

Homepage:

Research Interests: mental health education; new media and adolescent mental health


Dr. Shuai Chen

Email: chenshuai@m.scnu.edu.cn

Affiliation: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

Homepage:

Research Interests: mental health; internet addiction; video game use; longitudinal study


Summary

Adolescence is a critical period in individual development, marked by significant brain neuroplasticity, hormonal changes, and increasingly complex psychosocial challenges. Today's adolescents are growing up in a unique era, influenced by factors such as the proliferation of digital media and heightened academic pressure. The rising prevalence of mental disorders among adolescents globally has made this an important public health issue. This special issue aims to gather innovative research to deepen the understanding of risk and protective factors of adolescent mental health and social adjustment, as well as the underlying neurobiological and psychological mechanisms.

Potential themes include, but are not limited to:
1. The impact of early adversity on adolescent development.
2. Individual and contextual protective factors in coping with stress and adversity.
3. Digital media use and adolescent psychosocial development.
4. Neurobiological foundations of mental disorders in adolescents.

We invite scholars in related fields to submit original research articles or reviews. We particularly encourage submissions employing diverse methodologies—such as neuroimaging, scales, and behavioral experiments—to foster a comprehensive bio-psycho-social understanding of adolescent development.


Keywords

adolescents, mental health, social adjustment, internet use, adversity, resilience, brain

Published Papers


  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Self-Presentation on WeChat Moments and Ego Identity in Emerging Adults: The Role of Online Positive Feedback and Gender

    Shuqing Wang, Xiaorui Zhu, Xin Gao, Jialing Deng, Xiumei Yan
    International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, DOI:10.32604/ijmhp.2026.075412
    (This article belongs to the Special Issue: Psychological and Neural Foundations of Adolescent Mental Health)
    Abstract Background: Emerging adulthood is a critical period for ego identity exploration and consolidation, and self-presentation on social media constitutes a salient online context for this developmental process. However, limited research has explored the associations between self-presentation on WeChat Moments and ego identity. This study aims to examine these associations, focusing on the mediating role of online positive feedback and the moderating role of gender. Methods: Using a three-wave longitudinal design, this study followed 767 Chinese college students (Mean age = 18.96 years) through cluster sampling. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing self-presentation on WeChat Moments, online positive… More >

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