Previous research suggests that receiving a charity donation could induce gratitude but threaten self‐esteem. We investigated if peer charity donations from typical children benefit or harm the mental health of their left‐behind children (LBC) classmates. We recruited children at a school (i.e., intervened school) that organized peer charity donations every semester and three typical schools (i.e., non‐intervened school) without such intervention in China. Participants completed the gratitude, self‐esteem, depression, and social anxiety scales. A statistical toolbox, “Matchit”, randomly selected 420 children aged 9–13 (220 females, 200 males, 213 LBC, 207 non‐LBC); there was no significant difference in left‐behind status, age, gender, or family economic status (all p > .10) between the intervened and non‐intervened groups (210 per group). Structural equation model analyses revealed that gratitude was associated with higher self‐esteem, lower social anxiety, and lower depression. Moreover, the intervention effect on self‐esteem was significantly positive among the LBC recipients and non‐LBC donors. The interaction between intervention and left‐behind status was significant on gratitude and depression. Specifically, the intervention effect was not significant on gratitude or depression among the LBC but was significantly negative on gratitude and depression among the non‐LBC. Peer charity donation may increase self‐esteem among children (recipients or donors) via increased social connection or satisfaction of basic needs, yet decreased gratitude among the donors due to the “moral licensing effect”.

This is the first electroencephalogram study exploring the personal perspective effect on wise advising. Participants advised hypothetical protagonists in life dilemmas from both the 2nd- and 3rd-person perspective. Their advice for each dilemma was rated by two independent raters on wisdom criteria, i.e., metacognitive humility, metacognitive flexibility, and perspective taking. The results revealed that participants felt a significantly shorter psychological distance from protagonists when advising from the 2nd- (vs. the 3rd-) person perspective, p < 0.001. However, there was no significant effect of perspective condition on the wisdom score. Nevertheless, stronger resting-state absolute EEG powers in the frontal lobe were associated with wiser advising from the 2nd-, but not the 3rd-person perspective. Moreover, Z tests revealed that the correlations between the resting-state absolute EEG powers and wisdom scores were significantly stronger during advising from the 2nd- than the 3rd-person perspective. These results suggest that advising from the 2nd-person perspective was more self-related, and mental activities during rest contributed to advising from the 2nd- but not the 3rd-person perspective.

Research has demonstrated a relationship between anger and suicidality, while real‐time authentic emotions behind facial expressions could be detected during advising hypothetical protagonists in life dilemmas. This study aimed to investigate the predictive validity of anger expressions during advising for suicide risk. Besides advising on life dilemmas (a friend's betrayal, a friend's suicide attempt), 130 adults completed the suicidal scale of the Mini‐International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Participants’ anger during advice‐giving was measured 29 times/s by artificial intelligence (AI)‐based software FaceReader 7.1. The results showed that anger was a significant predictor of suicide risk. Increased anger during advising was associated with higher suicide risk. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between suicide risk and duration or length of advising. Therefore, measuring micro expressions of anger with AI‐based software may help detect suicide risk among clinical patients in both traditional and online counseling contexts and help prevent suicide.

Emerging adults’ approaches to personal development in life may be revealed in their conception of wisdom resources (WRs), i.e., factors that lead to the development of wisdom. We explored the conception of WRs among 453 Chinese emerging and young adults aged 18–30. Participants completed an online questionnaire covering 19 potential WRs proposed by experts in the psychological study of wisdom and non-experts in Western and Chinese cultures. Participants indicated how much they agreed these factors lead to wisdom development. Afterward, they reported additional WRs not listed. The results revealed that “willingness to learn” was the most endorsed WR, while “religious/spiritual experience” was the least. Moreover, the conception of WRs varied significantly across different genders, ages, and education levels. Finally, although the conception of WRs among our participants was similar to that among Western laypeople, participants reported culturally unique WRs (e.g., motivation to pursue positive experiences, physical and psychological health). These findings may inspire future research on emerging adults’ wisdom development.