Influence of inter‐parental conflict on adolescent delinquency via school connectedness: Is impulsivity a vulnerability or plasticity factor?

Abstract

This study examined the mediating effect of school connectedness on the relationship between inter‐parental conflict and adolescent delinquency, and impulsivity's moderation of the conditional effect of school connectedness. In total, 1407 Chinese students (mean age = 12.74 years, SD = 0.57) from 4 middle schools completed anonymous questionnaires regarding inter‐parental conflict, impulsivity, school connectedness, and delinquency. Path analysis revealed school connectedness was a mediator in the relationship between inter‐parental conflict and adolescent delinquency. Furthermore, impulsivity moderated the indirect effect of school connectedness in the relationship between inter‐parental conflict and adolescent delinquency. A simple slope plot, together with a proportion affected (PA) index, indicated that impulsivity functioned more as a plasticity, rather than a vulnerability, factor in school connectedness. When school connectedness was low, high impulsivity was associated with more delinquent behaviors; however, when it was high, high impulsivity was associated with fewer delinquent behaviors.

Interparental Conflict and Delinquency Among Chinese Adolescents: Parental Knowledge as a Mediator and Deviant Peer Affiliation as a Moderator

“…For each participant, his/her average score for all 17 items was determined, with higher scores indicating higher levels of interparental conflict. The scale has shown good reliability in previous research (Chi and Xin, 2003;Liu et al, 2016). For the current study, the measure demonstrated outstanding reliability (α = 0.90).…”

“…Given the relatively high correlations among these five dimensions (i.e., negative urgency, premeditation, perseverance, sensation seeking, and positive urgency), a composite score was created for each participant by determining his/her overall average score for all 20 items; higher scores indicated higher levels of impulsivity. Many empirical studies have used the UPPS-P Scale to measure adolescent impulsivity and have calculated the mean scores for all items when performing their analysis (Liu et al, 2016;Zhu et al, 2016). For this study, the UPPS-P Scale demonstrated excellent reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82).…”

“…There is considerable evidence that adolescents living in families with high interparental conflict are at an increased risk of developing serious mental-health problems and maladjustment (Schermerhorn et al, 2010;Ai et al, 2017;Harold and Sellers, 2018). Previous research has also demonstrated that interparental conflict is positively associated with adolescent delinquency (Vanassche et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2016;Xuan et al, 2018).…”

Parental Psychological Control and Adolescent Aggressive Behavior: Deviant Peer Affiliation as a Mediator and School Connectedness as a Moderator

“…According to the stress-buffering model (Cohen and Wills, 1985), adolescents with strong school connectedness are more likely to accept the school’s norms, values, and expectations, and to refrain from aggressive behavior, given that problematic behaviors are inconsistent with the regulations of the school (Loukas and Pasch, 2013; Liu et al, 2016). Moreover, adolescents with high school connectedness may recognize the negative effects of psychological control and deviant peer affiliation, and they may be buffered by desire to obey the rules or fear of getting caught (Loukas and Pasch, 2013; Liu et al, 2016; Loke et al, 2016). Finally, school connectedness may be protective for adolescents under psychological control, by motivating them to conform to social regulations and by decreasing the likelihood of their engaging in deviant activities (Liu et al, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, adolescents with high school connectedness may recognize the negative effects of psychological control and deviant peer affiliation, and they may be buffered by desire to obey the rules or fear of getting caught (Loukas and Pasch, 2013; Liu et al, 2016; Loke et al, 2016). Finally, school connectedness may be protective for adolescents under psychological control, by motivating them to conform to social regulations and by decreasing the likelihood of their engaging in deviant activities (Liu et al, 2016). Based on these theoretical suggestions and indirect experimental evidence, we expect that school connectedness would weaken the mediating effect of deviant peer affiliation toward the influence of psychological control on adolescent aggression.…”