Zhihui Cai

Bio: Zhihui Cai is an academic researcher from Central China Normal University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Psychology & Overweight. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 19 publications receiving 509 citations. Previous affiliations of Zhihui Cai include University of Macau.

Gender and attitudes toward technology use: A meta-analysis

Abstract: Gender difference in the attitude toward technology use has long been a concern in education. The last meta-analysis on this issue covered the empirical studies up to about 20 years ago. Since then, technology use has increased exponentially, and many more empirical studies have examined this issue, but showed inconsistent findings. As a result, there is a lack of clear understanding about if such gender difference still persists. The purpose of this research is to re-examine this issue by meta-analyzing the empirical research studies on this issue in the last two decades, and to examine the potential moderators that may have contributed to the heterogeneity of the research findings. A total of 50 articles from 1997 to 2014 were identified and used in this meta-analysis. The findings indicated that males still hold more favorable attitudes toward technology use than females, but such different would be characterized as small effect sizes. The comparison between this study and the last meta-analysis of about two decades ago suggested that there was only minimal reduction in the gender attitudinal gap in general. But when the general attitude was broken down to different dimensions of attitude, the present study showed a reduction of gender difference in the dimension of Affect and Self-efficacy , but not in the dimension of Belief . The limitations of the study were noted, and the implications and future research directions were discussed.

Prevalence of binge and loss of control eating among children and adolescents with overweight and obesity: An exploratory meta-analysis.

Abstract: Objective Due to the inconsistency of the research findings in the current literature, the prevalence of binge and loss of control (LOC) eating among children and adolescents with overweight and obesity remains unclear. By using the meta-analytic approach, this article aimed at exploring the prevalence of binge/LOC eating among children and adolescents with overweight and obesity, and at identifying potential moderators, which may have contributed to the heterogeneity of the existing research findings. Method Four electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global) were searched. The search period covered the research literature up to April 2016. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to estimate the overall prevalence. Weighted random-effects model ANOVAs and univariate random-effects meta-regression were applied for the analysis of categorical moderators and continuous moderators, respectively. Results Thirty-six studies were identified. The overall prevalence of binge/LOC eating was estimated to be 26.3% (95% CI: 23.1–29.7%), with 22.2% (95% CI: 18.6–26.3%) and 31.2% (95% CI: 26.1–36.9%) for binge eating and LOC eating, respectively. Treatment status, binge eating vs. LOC eating and assessment methods appeared to be associated with the inconsistencies of the prevalence rates across the studies. Discussion The findings of this meta-analysis indicated that binge/LOC eating was prevalent among more than one quarter of children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. Considering the close relationship between disordered eating behaviors and obesity, future research concerning overweight and obesity among children and adolescents needs to take binge/LOC eating into consideration. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.(Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:91–103)

Gender Differences in Life Satisfaction Among Children and Adolescents: A Meta-analysis

Abstract: Gender differences in life satisfaction (LS) have been studied for a long time, and the first meta-analysis on this issue was conducted almost 40 years ago. Since then, the social status of females has changed considerably across different nations and cultures. The individual studies in this area continued to show inconsistent results concerning gender group differences in their respective perception of LS. In this study, 46 empirical studies from 1980 to 2017 (with a cumulated total N = 11,772) were meta-analyzed to examine potential gender differences in LS among children and adolescents, and to explore if some study features could be moderators that could account for the observed inconsistencies in the findings across studies. The findings revealed that LS remains invariant across gender groups, but with a slight difference in favor of male children and adolescents. Our results further suggested that four study features were shown to contribute to the variations of the reported gender difference in LS across individual studies: geographical region, population type, age, and domain specific LS measurements. Such different features across the individual studies could have led to the observed inconsistency of the findings. Understanding how gender differences in LS vary by these study features could allow us to consider more targeted support to increase LS of children and adolescents in different situations.

Multivariate Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Meta-analysis is now a standard statistical tool for assessing the overall strength and interesting features of a relationship, on the basis of multiple independent studies. There is, however, recent acknowledgement of the fact that in many applications responses are rarely uniquely determined. Hence there has been some change of focus from a single response to the analysis of multiple outcomes. In this paper we propose and evaluate three Bayesian multivariate meta-analysis models: two multivariate analogues of the traditional univariate random effects models which make different assumptions about the relationships between studies and estimates, and a multivariate random effects model which is a Bayesian adaptation of the mixed model approach. Our preferred method is then illustrated through an analysis of a new data set on parental smoking and two health outcomes (asthma and lower respiratory disease) in children.

The role of leader support in facilitating proactive work behaviour: a perspective from attachment theory

Abstract: Researchers have proposed that leader support helps employees behave proactively at work. Leader support can facilitate the opportunities for employees to bring about change, as well as their motivation to do so. Nevertheless, empirical studies have shown mixed effects of leader support on employees’ proactive behavior. In this study, to reconcile the inconsistent findings on the impact of leader support on employees’ proactive behavior, the authors consider the content, mediating mechanisms, and boundary conditions of leader support in shaping employees’ proactive behavior. On the basis of attachment theory, the authors propose that secure-base support from leaders (support in the form of leader availability, encouragement, and noninterference) positively predicts employees’ proactive work behavior by increasing their role breadth self-efficacy and autonomous motivation. These hypotheses are supported in an online-survey sample from U.S. participants (N = 138) and a sample from a large gas and oil company in China (N = 212). The authors further propose that the beneficial effects of secure-base support from leaders are more prominent for individuals with lower attachment security. This hypothesis was also supported: Individuals high in attachment anxiety especially benefited from leader secure-base support in terms of its effect on role breadth self-efficacy; whereas those who are high in attachment avoidance especially benefited from leader secure-base support in terms of its effect on autonomous motivation. Our study helps explain how leaders’ support motivates employees’ proactive behavior, particularly for those individuals who have lower attachment security.

The role of demographics in online learning; A decision tree based approach

Abstract: Research has shown online learners’ performance to have a strong association with their demographic characteristics, such as regional belonging, socio-economic standing, education level, age, gender, and disability status. Despite a growing number of studies exploring factors for successful online learning outcomes, most researchers have utilised one or a combination of very few learner characteristics. Moreover, a limited number of studies scrutinised the impact of individual characteristics on learning outcomes as learners progress in a course. The current research aims to explore the dynamic impact of demographic characteristics on academic outcomes in the online learning environment. We investigated and compared the dynamic influence of six demographic characteristics on online learning outcomes using a sample of 8581 UK based learners across four Open University online courses from four different disciplines. We found region, neighborhood poverty level, and prior education respectively, to be strong predictors of overall learning outcomes. However, at a fine-grain level, such influence varied temporally as the course progressed, as well as between different courses. To conclude with, we discussed the implications for institutional support on adopting a tailored approach towards a more personalised student support system.