Family socioeconomic status and mental health in Chinese adolescents: the multiple mediating role of social relationships

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study is to explore whether social relationships of family and school contexts mediate the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on Chinese adolescents’ mental health. Methods A school-based study was conducted among a sample aged 13–18 in East China (n = 6902). We used scales for measuring social relationships and self-rated mental health. Family SES was computed from subjective socioeconomic status, education and occupation of parents. The mediation model was tested by using Path Analysis in IBM SPSS-Amos. Results The results showed that SES can significantly influence adolescent mental health through parent–child relationship, student–teacher relationship and student–student relationship. The total effect, direct effect and total indirect effect were −0.209 (95% CI = −0.299, −0.136), −0.090 (95% CI = −0.174, −0.007), −0.119 (95% CI = −0.187, −0.078) for boys, and −0.337 (95% CI = −0.478, −0.230), −0.132 (95% CI = −0.283, 0.010), −0.205 (95% CI = −0.351, −0.085) for girls. Conclusion The link between SES and adolescent mental health can be explained by social relationships. Focusing on the parent–child, student–student and student–teacher relationship interventions may contribute to improving the mental health of Chinese adolescents, especially in low socioeconomic groups, as well as female students.

Family socioeconomic status and the parent–child relationship in Chinese adolescents: the multiple serial mediating roles of visual art activities

“…According to Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, parents' SES level is crucial in the microsystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), which has a multidimensional impact on children’s development [ 7 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 20 , 32 ]. For instance, a growing body of evidence elucidates that SES influences children’s mental and psychological health (e.g., [ 5 , 36 ]), social creativity [ 20 , 21 ], and academic adjustment [ 13 , 35 ]; given that educated parents have a higher likelihood of recognizing the significance of children’s psychological, mental, physical, academic and social stability, their children are more likely to access relevant resources that maintain those aspects [ 7 , 12 , 35 , 37 – 39 ]. Nevertheless, a later path analysis study claimed that SES has no direct effect on children's psychological well-being, although it has a robust indirect effect through the mediating role of the parent–child relationship and parental involvement [ 17 ].…”

“…Furthermore, an extensive amount of literature has noted that high-SES children possess higher quality peer and parent–child relationships than their low-SES counterparts [ 1 , 5 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 29 , 35 , 36 , 40 ]. Children who secure a quality relationship with their parents build a solid personal identity that allows them to develop genuine social communication skills and learn how to tackle any challenges they face [ 1 , 6 , 20 , 21 ].…”

“…Fortunately, although society was restricted by the one-child policy [ 6 ], the degree of preference for boys is diminishing because of national economic development [ 1 , 30 ]. Astonishingly, novel studies have shown that in affluent families, girls have a better relationship than boys with their parents [ 5 , 7 , 35 ]. Moreover, a study that administered a large-scale survey confirmed that being a daughter in the family considerably improves the likelihood of a positive parent–child relationship and is associated with an increased amount of time parents and children spend together [ 12 ].…”

“…The relationship that children and parents possess is a profound means of restoring or promoting children’s development by providing a sense of security [ 1 – 8 ] and predicting future professional, academic and social achievements [ 9 – 12 ]. Likewise, a large volume of literature pronounced that the quality of the parent–child relationship defines children’s academic achievement [ 3 , 13 , 14 ], mental and emotional well-being [ 5 , 11 , 14 – 18 ], social competency [ 19 , 20 ], creativity [ 21 ], and behavioral problems [ 15 ]. Consequently, numerous scholars have put forth implications that it is important to foster the quality of the parent–child relationship so that children grow in a sustainable environment by creating harmonious interactions with their parents, peers, and community members [ 18 , 20 , 22 ].…”

“…Consequently, numerous scholars have put forth implications that it is important to foster the quality of the parent–child relationship so that children grow in a sustainable environment by creating harmonious interactions with their parents, peers, and community members [ 18 , 20 , 22 ]. The primary suggestion that the literature has made is for parents to improve their involvement in their children's academic, social, and cultural capital development (e.g., [ 3 , 5 , 12 , 14 ]). However, the nature of the parent and child relationship is notably affected by cultural and social adjustment [ 1 , 6 , 22 , 23 ].…”