Mediation effects of self-disclosure preference on interpersonal behaviors are significant in HK adolescents but largely non-significant in US adolescents, where maladaptive coping mediates toward more bullying¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The adaptive-coping mediation between self-disclosure and bullying is significant in HK (βHK = -0.06, p < 0.001) but not in US adolescents (βUS = -0.00, p > 0.05). → Huinan Hu 2026 q2 i? Both coping mediators between self-disclosure and prosocial behaviors are significant in HK (AC: βHK = 0.25, p < 0.001; MC: βHK = 0.02, p < 0.05) but not in the US. → Huinan Hu 2026 q2 i? Maladaptive coping mediates self-disclosure toward more bullying in the US sample (β = 0.02, p < 0.05), reversing the negative whole-sample and HK effects. → Huinan Hu 2026

Evidence¶

Huinan Hu 2026¶

Huinan Hu, Mojtaba Habibi Asgarabad, Enyi Jen, H. N. Cheung. (2026). Turn to chatbots for sharing feelings or seeking solutions? Differential associations of preferences for chatbot-mediated self-disclosure and instrumental help-seeking with adolescent interpersonal behaviors in the United States and Hong Kong. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/qm6bg_v1

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Region-specific bootstrapped indirect effects (Table 3) show the self-disclosure mediation pattern holds in HK but not the US; Table 3 additionally prints a significant positive US indirect path via maladaptive coping to bullying (β = 0.02, p < 0.05).

"The mediating effects of both adaptive coping and maladaptive coping between self-disclosure and prosocial behaviors were significant in HK adolescents but not significant in US adolescents (AC: βHK = 0.25, p < 0.001; βUS = 0.02, p > 0.05; MC: βHK = 0.02, p < 0.05; βUS = -0.01, p > 0.05)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Adolescents with self-disclosure or instrumental help-seeking preferences show higher adaptive coping and prosocial behaviors, and the self-disclosure group shows the lowest maladaptive coping and bullying, in ANOVA comparisons — related
• Adolescents' preference for instrumental help-seeking from AI chatbots is positively associated with adaptive coping, which relates to more prosocial behavior and less bullying, consistently across US and HK samples — related
• In the whole sample, preference for self-disclosure with AI chatbots is associated with higher adaptive coping and lower maladaptive coping, linking to more prosocial behavior and less bullying — related
• The correlates of self-disclosure preference with AI chatbots diverge culturally: positive with adaptive coping in HK but not the US, and positively associated with maladaptive coping in the US but negatively in HK — related
• US and HK adolescents differ in conversation-topic preferences: HK adolescents more often prefer instrumental help-seeking and self-disclosure, while US adolescents more often report nothing to say to chatbots
• Students report peer support and distraction as effective coping, rarely self-regulation or professional help-seeking — related