The transition to primary school is stressful for children in Hong Kong, with students showing high rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms. To further understand this transition, the current study: 1) examined the utility of Pekrun's (2006) theory of achievement emotions for young children with limited control conceptions; 2) tested the theory in high and low competence subject areas; and 3) tested a mediational model predicting changes in children's achievement emotions over time from control/value appraisals and academic coping strategies. 242 children (age 5 to 6) from 11 schools in Hong Kong participated. At each of two time points (the third and last months of the school year), children were interviewed individually about their control/value appraisals, academic achievement emotions, and academic coping strategies. Control and value appraisals were positively associated with academic enjoyment and negatively associated with boredom and anxiety. The control by value interaction for academic anxiety was in the expected direction and marginally significant (p =.06). Results were stronger for the low competence areas, and the mediational model was significant for girls only. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in children's depressive symptoms using CES-DC depression scale during the first year of primary school in Hong Kong, as well as examine similarities and differences in the results as a function of rater—mother versus child. Children from two primary schools were studied—one primarily serving higher SES families and one primarily serving lower SES families. Children showed high levels of depressive symptoms at the beginning of primary school in both schools. Six year old children (N = 99, 55% were male) in the two schools showed different patterns of change over time. Mothers did not appear to recognize the changes in their children's depressive symptoms, reporting high levels of depressive symptoms in their children at each time point, showing no changes in depressive symptoms over time. Mother and child ratings of depressive symptoms showed a low positive correlation (similar in size to correlations found in studies of older children in Western samples), and in general, mothers reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in their children than did their children. Based on the findings, implications for future studies and early intervention services for strengthening young children's coping strategies during the transition to primary schools are discussed. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This longitudinal study examined the association between Chinese children's coping strategies and depressive symptoms within the context of the transition from preschool to primary school in Hong Kong. Research Findings: Principal component analyses of children's strategies for coping with stress during the transition to school revealed three factors: negative coping, positive coping, and distraction. Children's strategies were moderately stable over time, but the relationship between coping and depressive symptoms differed for boys and girls. Girls' positive coping strategies at Time 1 predicted fewer depressive symptoms at Time 2, whereas girls' use of distraction positively predicted later depressive symptoms. Boys' depressive symptoms at Time 1 predicted negative coping strategies at Time 2. The present findings show that distraction may not always be an effective way to help young children reduce depressive symptoms, and that coping strategies may have a greater impact on reducing later depression risk for girls than for boys. Practice or Policy: Implications for future studies and practices are discussed at the end of this paper. This study provides information for educators and government and non-government organizations in developing programs to help children with effective coping strategies during their first year at school. Copyright © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.