The Relationship Between Family Functioning and Internalizing Problems in Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

Frontiers in Psychology

Siya Peng¹  Xinli Chi¹  Qiuying Wang² 

[1] School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China;Virtual-Physical Arts Research Center, Educational Science Research Institute of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China;

关键词: internalizing problems;    family functioning;    positive youth development;    migrant children;    Chinese adolescents;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644222

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Research has consistently found that poor family functioning is a risk factor for adolescents' internalizing problems. However, studies of the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation are insufficient. In this study, we explore the association between family functioning and adolescents' internalizing problems by testing the mediating roles of positive youth development (PYD) attributes and the moderating role of migrant status. A large cross-sectional sample of 11,865 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 14.45 years, standard deviation = 1.55 years) were used to measure internalizing problems, family functioning, PYD, migrant status, and other demographic information. After controlling for covariates (age, gender, grade, and socioeconomic status), the results revealed that PYD mediated the relation between family functioning and internalizing problems. Moreover, migrant status moderated the relationship between family functioning and internalizing problems. Specifically, the effects of family functioning on internalizing problems were stronger among local-born adolescents than among migrant adolescents. The findings indicate that improving family functioning and PYD attributes may be promising approaches to prevent/reduce adolescent internalizing problems.

【 授权许可】

CC BY