ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
This article is part of the Research TopicMental Health Dynamics for Vulnerable Populations in the Digital Era: Opportunities and ChallengesView all 8 articles
Psychological well-being and social emotional competence of Chinese children and adolescents in the post-pandemic era: patterns, determinants, and interrelations
Provisionally accepted
- 1Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
- 2Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented distinct challenges to the psychological well-being (PWB) and social emotional competence (SEC) of Chinese children and adolescents due to prolonged prevention measures, but knowledge of their PWB and SEC status in the post-pandemic era—including distinctive patterns, essential determinants, and interrelationships—remains limited. Method: This study employed a self-report questionnaire with three sections (baseline characteristics, PWB scale, and SEC scale) to survey the PWB and SEC levels of Chinese children and adolescents in Gong'an County, central China. A total of 3,420 participants aged 8–16 from different areas in the district were surveyed and 2,848 valid responses were collected. Additionally, we identified 24 participants with low PWB and SEC scores and conducted follow-up interviews and family visits with them and their parents. Quantitative statistical analyses included descriptive analyses, analysis of variance (ANOVA), logistical regressions, and correlational analyses. Qualitative analyses were conducted to explain the statistical results as well as reveal emerging themed findings. Results: The quantitative data revealed moderate PWB and SEC levels among the participants, with significant variations based on baseline characteristics such as grade level, school location, academic rank, parent marital status, household economic condition, and left-behind status. Determinants influencing both PWB and SEC included academic rank, parent marital status, and household economic condition. The interrelationships between PWB and SEC dimensions also highlighted the importance of self-management for the well-being of Chinese youths. Furthermore, three theme findings were identified that are aligned with the quantitative results, focusing on PWB and SEC challenges, the impact of economic conditions on family dynamics, and the influence of grade obsession and self-esteem issues in the post-pandemic era. Conclusion: Teachers should monitor students' psychological and emotional well-being, especially those with poor academic performance, disadvantaged backgrounds, and unstable parental relationships. Non-left-behind children with high social awareness require equal attention. Effective interventions are needed to develop students' self-management and self-awareness, thus promoting their PWB.
Keywords: psychological well-being, Social emotional competence, Children and adolescents, China, COVID-19, Logistic regression analysis, qualitative analysis
Received: 01 Aug 2025; Accepted: 28 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Chen, Zhang, Wang, Yi, Yin and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Heng Luo, luoheng@mail.ccnu.edu.cn
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