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

Abstract

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.

The Association Between Family Function and Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms in China: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Analysis

“…The results of cross-lagged analysis showed that the impaired family function significantly predicted adolescent depressive symptoms from Grade 7 to Grade 8, which supports our hypothesis (ii). This result is consistent with most previous studies showing that family dysfunction, including more family conflict, lower levels of interactions with parents, and poor family relationships, is a risk factor for adolescents' internalizing problems (28,37,69). Early adolescence is a susceptible period for individuals to develop anxiety, depression, and other psychological problems (70).…”

“…Similar results were found among teenagers in China (36,37). A recent Chinese study, using a sample of 11,865 adolescents, has also found that impaired family function might increase the risk of adolescent internalizing problems like depression, and researchers further point out that the influence of family function on adolescent depression was partly mediated by positive youth development attributes (28). With the awareness of the dynamic development of adolescent depressive symptoms, some scholars began to pay attention to the longitudinal influence of family factors (e.g., family relationships, family social support, and family functioning) on depressive symptoms (38,39).…”

“…Taking the family system as a whole, this concept is above and beyond both the dual parentchild relationship and the binary conjugal relationship (25). Family function encompasses three core dimensions: mutuality, communication, and harmony (26), which have been extensively employed in the related studies of the family domain (27,28). A large body of studies has revealed that family function plays a critical role in an individual's healthy development.…”

“…A large body of studies has revealed that family function plays a critical role in an individual's healthy development. For example, one prospective study showed that harmonious family relationships and good parent-child communication could significantly promote positive developmental attributes (28), which is expected to be beneficial for the academic achievement of adolescents (29). On the contrary, teenagers who live in an impaired family are more likely to experience internalizing problems such as depression, anxiety, and withdrawal (30), and show externalizing problems such as antisocial, aggressive and disobedient behaviors (31).…”

Socioeconomic Status and Risk-Taking Behavior Among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital and Self-Control

“…To date, studies on the relationship between SES and risk-taking behavior have focused on Europe, the Americas, and other extremely deprived areas elsewhere, with the issue relatively unexplored in the Chinese context. However, several previous studies have concluded that SES is negatively correlated with Chinese adolescents’ health-risk and problem behaviors ( Cui and Lou, 2019 ; Liu et al, 2020 ), while other research detected no significant correlation ( Wang et al, 2018 ). These mixed results indicate the need to clarify the nature of the relationship between SES and Chinese adolescents’ risk-taking behavior in order to determine the presence of cross-cultural consistency in the relationship between the two.…”