Hua Ming

Bio: Hua Ming is an academic researcher from Beijing Normal University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Socioeconomic status & Academic achievement. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 8 publications receiving 36 citations.

Family Socioeconomic Status, Parental Involvement, and Academic Achievement: The Moderating Role of Adolescents’ Subjective Social Mobility:

Abstract: The correlations between a low family socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescents’ poor academic outcomes have been widely documented. However, the mechanisms through which family SES is associated ...

Family socio-economic status and children's executive function: The moderating effects of parental subjective socio-economic status and children's subjective social mobility.

Abstract: Family socio-economic status (SES) is significantly related to disparities in children's executive function. Children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds perform worse on executive function tasks than their peers from high-SES families. The protective factors in the relationship between SES and executive function have not been sufficiently investigated, especially from the perspective of parents' and children's perceptions and expectations regarding SES. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether parental subjective SES and children's subjective social mobility separately moderated the relationship between family SES and children's executive function among 885 participants aged 9-13 years. The results showed that family SES was positively related to the three components of executive function (cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory). Moreover, the relationship between SES and cognitive flexibility was weak among the children with a high level of subjective social mobility or those whose parents had high levels of subjective SES. Among children from families with economic hardship, subjective social mobility is a potential protective factor mitigating the negative effects of low family SES on their cognitive flexibility.

Cumulative Risk and Hopelessness among Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrant Adolescents

Abstract: Many rural-to-urban migrant adolescents experience adversity and are vulnerable to emotional problems. Previous studies on migrant adolescents focused on the impact of a single type of risk exposure. The cumulative risk approach considers a number of risk factors, providing a new perspective for investigating the living environment of individuals exposed to multiple risks simultaneously. The current study examined the relationship between cumulative risk and hopelessness among rural-to-urban migrant adolescents and the potential protective roles of stress mindset and subjective social mobility on this relationship. A total of 251 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents aged 10 to 14 completed a series of self-reported questionnaires. The results showed that adolescents exposed to more risk factors simultaneously faced a higher risk of hopelessness. For those with a stress-is-enhancing mindset or the belief in the possibility of upward social mobility, the link between cumulative risk and hopelessness was nonsignificant. When the two moderators were considered simultaneously, only subjective social mobility acted as a moderator. The findings showed that both the stress-is-enhancing mindset and subjective social mobility may act as protective variables to decrease the negative influence of adverse circumstances on Chinese migrant adolescents, but the effect of the latter is stable. The practical implications for promoting the development of disadvantaged adolescents are discussed.

Construal level among poor children: Executive function implications.

Abstract: Poverty impedes children's executive function (EF). Therefore, it is necessary to mitigate the negative effect of poverty by developing efficient interventions to improve poor children's cognitive function. In three studies, we examined whether high-level construals can improve EF among poor children in China. In Study 1, we observed a positive relationship between family socioeconomic status and children's EF, which was moderated by construal level (n = 206; M age = 9.71; 45.6% girls). In Study 2a, we experimentally induced high- versus low-level construals and found that poor children with high-level construals exhibited better EF than those with low-level construals (n = 65; M age = 11.32; 47.7% girls). However, the same intervention did not affect the performance of affluent children in Study 2b (n = 63; M age = 10.54; 54% girls). Moreover, we found that the interventional effects of high-level construals improved the ability of children living in poverty to make healthy decisions and delayed gratification in Study 3 (n = 74; M age = 11.10; 45.9% girls). These findings may have implications for using high-level construals as an effective intervention to improve poor children's EF and cognitive capacity.

The impact of racial discrimination on the health of Australian Indigenous children aged 5-10 years: analysis of national longitudinal data

Abstract: [Background:] A growing body of literature highlights that racial discrimination has negative impacts on child health, although most studies have been limited to an examination of direct forms of racism using cross-sectional data. We aim to provide further insights on the impact of early exposure to racism on child health using longitudinal data among Indigenous children in Australia and multiple indicators of racial discrimination. [Methods:] We used data on 1239 Indigenous children aged 5–10 years from Waves 1–6 (2008–2013) of Footprints in Time, a longitudinal study of Indigenous children across Australia. We examined associations between three dimensions of carer-reported racial discrimination (measuring the direct experiences of children and vicarious exposure by their primary carer and family) and a range of physical and mental health outcomes. Analysis was conducted using multivariate logistic regression within a multilevel framework. [Results:] Two-fifths (40%) of primary carers, 45% of families and 14% of Indigenous children aged 5–10 years were reported to have experienced racial discrimination at some point in time, with 28–40% of these experiencing it persistently (reported at multiple time points). Primary carer and child experiences of racial discrimination were each associated with poor child mental health status (high risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties), sleep difficulties, obesity and asthma, but not with child general health or injury. Children exposed to persistent vicarious racial discrimination were more likely to have sleep difficulties and asthma in multivariate models than those with a time-limited exposure. [Conclusions:] The findings indicate that direct and persistent vicarious racial discrimination are detrimental to the physical and mental health of Indigenous children in Australia, and suggest that prolonged and more frequent exposure to racial discrimination that starts in the early lifecourse can impact on multiple domains of health in later life. Tackling and reducing racism should be an integral part of policy and intervention aimed at improving the health of Australian Indigenous children and thereby reducing health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.

Short-Term Exposure to Nature and Benefits for Students’ Cognitive Performance: a Review

Abstract: There is growing interest recently in the outdoor environment surrounding schools where students spent time during breaks, in-school activities, and after-school programs. Several reviews have examined the impact of long-term exposures to nearby nature on students’ academic achievement, but none has focused on the effects of short-term contacts with nature on students’ cognitive performance. The aim of this review is to understand the context in which short-term passive exposures to greenness occur, how cognitive performance is measured, and the conditions under which cognitive benefits emerge at various educational levels. We reviewed 14 studies in the extant literature that report investigations involving students at different educational levels, from elementary school to university, in a short exposure to nature lasting from 10 to 90 min during a study day. The review shows that in 12 out of the 14 studies, across educational levels, cognitive benefits emerge in terms of directed attention restoration from mental fatigue due to contact with nature. A no-cost opportunity to sustain students’ cognition is a break in a green environment after mentally demanding activities.

The right mindset: stress mindset moderates the association between perceived stress and depressive symptoms

Abstract: Background and Objectives: Having a stress-is-enhancing mindset – the extent to which one believes the effects of stress are enhancing rather than debilitating – is associated with greater health a...