Parenting Style and Emotional Well-Being Among Adolescents: The Role of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration

Parenting styles and personal belief in a just world among Chinese children and adolescents: gender, living location, and age as moderators

Introduction

The positive development of the personal belief in a just world (PBJW) plays a vital role in academic achievement and mental health among children and adolescents. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the influencing factors of PBJW better. The association between parenting styles and PBJW has been well established, but whether this association varies among different groups remains an open issue. The present study aimed to examine the strength of the associations between parenting styles and PBJW among Chinese children and adolescents and the role of certain moderators (gender, living location, and age) in these associations.

Methods

This study employed hierarchical regression and simple slopes analyses to examine data from the National Children's Study of China. The database includes 24,013 Chinese children and adolescents in grades 49 (M = 12.76 years, SD = 1.73), with 53.50% boys.

Results

The results indicated that (1) authoritative parenting was positively correlated with PBJW; (2) both authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were negatively correlated with PBJW; (3) the positive relationship between authoritative parenting and PBJW was more prominent in urban regions; the negative relationship between authoritarian and PBJW was stronger in urban regions; and the negative relationship between permissive parenting and PBJW was more pronounced among girls and older children and adolescents.

Discussion

These findings highlight important associations between parenting styles and the development of PBJW among Chinese children and adolescents, and suggest strategies for policy-makers, educators, and parents to improve PBJW for different types of Chinese children and adolescents.

Experiences and Cognitive Characteristics of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents With Depression: A Qualitative Study

PURPOSE

To elucidate the underlying motivations, experiential dimensions, and cognitive perceptions in adolescents with depression and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).

METHOD

A descriptive qualitative design was used. Participants were 18 Chinese adolescents with depression and NSSI. Conventional content analysis was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Three primary themes and 11 subthemes were identified: Triggers of NSSI (personal, family, school, and social factors); Experiencing Emotional Complexity in NSSI Implementation (mitigating psychological distress, awakening a sense of existential life, generating secondary negative emotions, stimulating reflections on life and death); and Perceptions and Understandings of NSSI are Diverse (NSSI as a form of seeking validation or approval, an addictive behavior, a means to attain a sense of control, and unacceptable behavior).

CONCLUSION

Although nursing staff should provide comprehensive treatment and psychological support, efforts should also be made to strengthen caregiving skills of family members, thereby promoting overall physical and mental health of adolescents. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, xx(x), xx-xx.].

Associations between parental autonomy support and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students: the chain-mediating effects of mindfulness and self-esteem

Introduction

Despite extensive research on contextual factors will relieve college students' depressive symptoms, significant gaps remain in understanding the underlying mechanisms of this relationship, particularly through individual strength factors such as mindfulness and self-esteem. Based on self-determination theory, we explore the association between parental autonomy support and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students and whether mindfulness and self-esteem serve as mediators.

Methods

A total of 1,182 Chinese college students aged 16 to 27 years (Mage = 20.33, SD = 1.63; female = 55.7%) participated in this research. Questionnaires pertaining to parental autonomy support, mindfulness, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms were administered.

Results

The results revealed that depressive symptoms were negatively correlated with both paternal and maternal autonomy support, with mindfulness and self-esteem acting as chain-mediators. Specifically, mindfulness and self-esteem were positively impacted by parental autonomy support, whereas depressive symptoms were negatively impacted by mindfulness and self-esteem. Furthermore, paternal and maternal autonomy support significantly impacted depressive symptoms via both direct and indirect pathways. Indirect effects included three paths: mediation through mindfulness, mediation through self-esteem, and mediation through the mindfulness and self-esteem chain.

Discussion

The study highlights the fundamental mechanisms that account for the association between Chinese college students' parental autonomy support and depressive symptoms, these insights can be used to prevent and manage mental health problems among Chinese college students. For example, parents' autonomy support can directly reduce depressive symptoms, but we can also indirectly promote college students' mental health by emphasizing the mediation role of students' mindfulness and self-esteem.

Invalidating environment and meaning in life: The Chain Mediating Effects of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and basic psychological needs satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Although people strive for meaning in life, life is full of experiences that challenge meaning. According to Bowen's family systems theory, the family is both a relational and an emotional system in which family members influence and are influenced by each other. Invalidating environment, reflecting a deficient family emotional setting, may be a key influencing factor in diminishing meaning in life. Existing studies have not directly explored the effects of the invalidating environment on meaning in life and its underlying mechanism.

OBJECTIVE

Guided by Bowen's family systems theory, this study aims to explore the relationship between invalidating environment and meaning in life, as well as the mediating effects of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

METHODS

A sample of 555 university students (62.5 % female, 37.5 % male; Mage =19.13 years old, SD = 1.72) completed questionnaires regarding demographics, invalidating environment, meaning in life, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and basic psychological needs satisfaction.

RESULTS

Results revealed that: (a) invalidating environment negatively predicts meaning in life; (b) regulatory emotional self-efficacy and basic psychological needs satisfaction serve as both independent and chain mediators between invalidating environment and meaning in life.

CONCLUSION

Invalidating environment affects meaning in life through regulatory emotional self-efficacy and basic psychological needs satisfaction. This finding has significant theoretical implications and provides a feasible pathway to improve children's meaning in life at both the parent and child levels.

Longitudinal relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent non-suicidal self-injury: The roles of basic psychological needs frustration and self-concept clarity

BACKGROUND

Harsh parenting has been shown to be associated with adolescents' non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior. However, less is known about the mechanism underlying the association.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to use a one-year longitudinal design to investigate the mediating role of basic psychological needs frustration and the moderating role of self-concept clarity in the association between harsh parenting and NSSI.

METHODS

Three waves of data (called T1, T2 and T3) were collected 6 months apart, between April 2021 and 2022, in a sample of 786 Chinese adolescents (52.0 % girls; Mage at Wave 1 = 13.27 years). Structural equation model was used to test a longitudinal moderated mediation model, with gender, age and baseline NSSI as covariates.

RESULTS

The results showed process of mediation in which T1 harsh parenting was longitudinally and positively associated with T3 NSSI through T2 basic psychological needs frustration. Furthermore, moderated mediation analyses revealed that T2 self-concept clarity buffered the adverse impact of T2 needs frustration on T3 NSSI, thereby mitigating the mediation process.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support the self-determination theory, and suggest that fostering adolescents' self-concept clarity and satisfying their psychological needs may be useful in programs designed to lower the risk of NSSI.

Five-Factor Personality Dimensions Mediated the Relationship between Parents' Parenting Style Differences and Mental Health among Medical University Students

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have identified the relationships between parental parenting style, personality, and mental health. However, the interactive influences between mother's and father's parenting styles on personality have been examined less often. To fill the gaps, the first aim of this study was to build the relationships between parental parenting style differences (PDs) and five-factor personality dimensions. The second aim was to test the mediating effect of five-factor personality dimensions on the relationships between parental parenting style differences and mental health.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study conducted among medical university students, and 2583 valid participants were analyzed. Mental health was measured by the Kessler-10 scale. The Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory brief version (CBF-PI-B) was used to access five-factor personality dimensions. PD was calculated by the short form of Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran. Linear regressions were conducted to analyze the associations between PD and five-factor personality dimensions. The SPSS macros program (PROCESS v3.3) was performed to test the mediating effect of five-factor personality dimensions on the associations between PD and mental health.

RESULTS

Linear regressions found that worse mental health was positively associated with PD (β = 0.15, p < 0.001), higher neuroticism (β = 0.61, p < 0.001), lower conscientiousness (β = -0.11, p < 0.001), lower agreeableness (β = -0.10, p < 0.01), and lower openness (β = -0.05, p < 0.05). The results also supported that PD was positively associated with lower conscientiousness (β = -0.15, p < 0.01), lower agreeableness (β = -0.09, p < 0.001), lower openness (β = -0.15, p < 0.001), and lower extraversion (β = -0.08, p < 0.001), respectively. The mediating effect of agreeableness or openness was supported for the relationships between PD and mental health.

CONCLUSION

These findings remind us of the importance of consistent parenting styles between mother and father, and they also can be translated into practices to improve mental health among medical university students.

Warm and Harsh Parenting, Self-Kindness and Self-Judgment, and Well-Being: An Examination of Developmental Differences in a Large Sample of Adolescents

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations between warm and harsh parenting and adolescent well-being, and the mediating effects of self-kindness and self-judgment, in relationships. Moreover, this study investigated developmental differences across three adolescence stages (early, middle, and late). Methods: In total, 14,776 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.53 ± 2.08, 52.3% males), including individuals in early (10-12 years old, N = 5055), middle (13-15 years old, N = 6714), and late adolescence (16-18 years old, N = 3007) participated in this study. All the adolescents rated their levels of warm and harsh parenting, self-kindness and self-judgment, and well-being. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to examine the mediation model. Multi-group analysis was conducted to investigate differences in the mediation model across the different developmental stages. Results: Both warm and harsh parenting were related to adolescent well-being through the mediating effects of self-kindness and self-judgment. However, warm parenting exerted a more substantial impact on adolescent well-being. Self-kindness had a more robust mediating effect than self-judgment in relationships. Moreover, harsh parenting had a weaker impact on adolescent well-being in late adolescence than in early and middle adolescence. Warm parenting had a more significant impact on adolescent well-being in early adolescence than in middle and late adolescence. Conclusions: Overall, warm parenting had a more substantial effect than harsh parenting on adolescent well-being. The findings also highlighted the crucial mediating effect of self-kindness in the relationships between parenting and well-being. Moreover, this study also indicated the importance of warm parenting in early adolescence. Intervention programs should focus on enhancing the level of warm parenting to promote self-kindness in adolescents, in order to improve their well-being.

Social support and psychological well-being in younger and older adults: The mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction

This study examined the associations between social support from different relationship types (i.e., spouses, children, friends, and parents) and psychological well-being (i.e., happiness and depressive symptoms), and the mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in these associations. A dataset on social support, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and psychological well-being was collected from 823 South Korean adults (the mean of age = 48.83; 50.40% male). Results showed that social support from spouses and friends had the most robust associations with happiness and depressive symptoms. In addition, the satisfaction of needs for autonomy and relatedness mediated the associations between social support from spouses and friends, and happiness and depressive symptoms. However, these associations differed by age groups. Although social support satisfied basic psychological needs better for younger adults than for older adults, the satisfaction of needs for autonomy and relatedness was critical in order to support well-being for both groups.

Teachers’ Mental Health and Their Involvement in Educational Inclusion

Teaching is one of the most stressful work contexts, psychologically affecting professionals. The objective of this study is to analyse the effect of the frustration of NPB basic psychological needs, resilience, emotional intelligence and inclusion from the perspective of teachers in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is carried out with 542 teachers of therapeutic pedagogy and special educational needs using the Psychological Need Thwarting Scale PNTS questionnaires as a research method, the Resilience Scale (RS-14), the Trait Meta Mood Scale 24 (TMMS-24), the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Index for Inclusion. The results revealed positive correlations, on the one hand, between the factors of frustration among themselves and with burnout and, on the other hand, the positive correlation between emotional intelligence, resilience and the inclusion index. In conclusion, the resilience of teachers plays a protective role in the inclusion of students with SEN in the face of emotional exhaustion and the frustration of psychological needs.