Dr. CHEN Lingjun Chairs a Symposium and Presents at SRCD 2025 Biennial Meeting

Recently, Dr. CHEN Lingjun, an assistant professor at the Center for School Mental Health Research (CSMHR) of the School of Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, attended the 2025 biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) in the United States. Dr. CHEN served as the chair of a symposium and presented her research at this prestigious academic conference. The SRCD biennial meeting is a leading international conference in the field of child development science, attracting 4,496 scholars, educators, and industry experts from 63 countries. This year's conference was held in Minneapolis, USA, focusing on the latest research findings and practical strategies in child and adolescent development.

Dr. CHEN chaired a symposium titled “Adolescent Depression, Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), and Suicidality: Predictors and Prevention Strategies.” The symposium featured four innovative studies that explored three interrelated psychological symptoms (depression, NSSI, and suicidality) from adolescence to adulthood. These studies examined various risk and protective factors, aiming to provide a scientific basis for interdisciplinary research and practical interventions. Dr. CHEN, along with other researchers currently working in United States, China, and the United Kingdom, presented their latest findings on this critical topic.

Dr. CHEN's talk was titled “Examining expressive writing as a potential strategy to reduce depression in high school students.” Based on the current mental health status of Chinese adolescents, the study conducted a three-week intervention experiment targeting first-year high school students in Shanghai. The study employed two distinct expressive writing paradigms, with participants undergoing a 20-minute writing intervention once a week. The results indicated a significant reduction in depressive symptoms among the students after the intervention. Notably, 70.84% of the participants reported that expressive writing had a positive impact on their emotional regulation. The study highlights the potential value of expressive writing as a low-cost, easily implementable strategy for school-based mental health services, offering a promising approach to preventing adolescent depression.

Following the presentation, the audience engaged in a lively discussion on research design, data analysis, and practical applications. There was particular interest in the moderating variables in Dr. CHEN's study and their impact on the effectiveness of expressive writing interventions. These discussions provided valuable insights for future research and highlighted the importance of further exploration in this area.

Written by CHEN Lingjun

Edited by KUANG Xuemei

Proofread by CHEN Ruoxi