Background
Adolescentsā self-evaluation is an expressive form of their self-concept. Parental bonding, personality traits and psychological status were the three main determining factors of adolescentsā self-evaluation; however, no study has tested the effects of the three variables simultaneously. We aimed to explore these effects by a systematic approach.
Methods
Data came from the Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS). The associations of parental bonding (measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument), personality traits (the Responsibility Scale) and psychological status (the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, K6) with self-evaluation measured in three domains (the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for children and the Self-Discipline Scale) were tested by the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis.
Results
A total of 892 Chinese adolescents (Average ageā=ā10.72, SDā=ā0.89) were included. Significant positive correlations were found among self-evaluation, parental bonding, personality traits and psychological status. The overall (direct and indirect) effect of parental bonding on adolescentsā self-evaluation was 0.49 (parental bondingā self-evaluation, Ī²ā=ā0.28; parental bondingā personality traits and psychological statusā self-evaluation, Ī²ā=ā0.21). Personality traits and psychological status were directly associated with adolescentsā self-evaluation (personality traitā self-evaluation, Ī²ā=ā0.78 and K6ā self-evaluation, Ī²ā=ā0.39).
Conclusions
The use of SEM offered a detailed analysis of the correlations between parental bonding, personality traits, and psychological status, and a systematic approach to investigating their direct and indirect effects on adolescentsā self-evaluation. The three factors were directly associated with adolescentsā self-evaluation and parental bonding had an indirect effect on adolescentsā self-evaluation that was mediated by both personality traits and psychological status.