The effect of cumulative risk related to family adversity on social adjustment among left-behind children in China: The mediating role of stress and the moderating role of psychosocial resources

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01270

Abstract

Abstract:

Relative to non-left-behind children (NLBC), left-behind children (LBC) are exposed to various risk factors related to family, such as lack of parental care and insufficient family support, which could increase their vulnerability to psychological and behavioral problems. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory and the cumulative risk model, this study used two-wave data (T1 and T2) to examine the association between cumulative risk related to family adversity (T1) and social adjustment outcomes (T1/T2), in which stress (T1/T2) is a mediator, and examined the moderating role of psychosocial resources (T1) in this association. The two-wave longitudinal household surveys were conducted among six hundred and fifty-one families of rural children. A total of 285 children whose both parents migrated for work throughout the study waves were categorized as the LBC group, while 366 children who reported living with their parents at least one of waves were categorized as the control group. All measures in the surveys showed good reliability, including family adversity, stress, psychosocial resources (i.e., psychological capital and social support) and social adjustment (i.e., subjective well-being, depression, positive behaviors and problem behaviors). Data analyses were performed using SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 22.0. Results showed that: (1) LBC’s T1 cumulative risk related to family adversity was linearly associated with their T1/T2 social adjustment; (2) After controlling for gender and age, LBC’s T1 cumulative risk related to family adversity was negatively associated with T1 social adjustment (β = ?0.42, p < 0.001), and T1 stress mediated this association. The association between stress and social adjustment was moderated by psychosocial resources, with a higher level of psychosocial resources associated with a smaller mediating effect of stress. (3) After controlling for gender and age, T1 stress and T1 social adjustment, T1 cumulative risk related to family adversity were negatively associated with T2 social adjustment (β = ?0.23, p < 0.001), and T2 stress mediated this relationship. T1 psychosocial resources moderated the association of T1 cumulative risk related to family adversity on both T2 social adjustment and T2 stress. This showed that with the level of T1 psychosocial resources increasing, the main effect of T1 cumulative risk related to family adversity on T2 social adjustment and the mediation effect of T2 stress decreased and eventually became statistically non-significant. The findings of this study demonstrate the detrimental impact of cumulative risk related to family adversity on social adjustment, as well as the mediating role of stress and the moderating role of psychosocial resources among LBC. Overall, these findings suggest that family risk factors are proximal factors for LBC’s social maladjustment, and future intervention should attend to psychosocial resource promotion.

Key words: left-behind children, cumulative risk related to family adversity, social adjustment, stress, psychosocial resources

FAN Xing-hua, FANG Xiao-yi, ZHAO Xian, CHEN Feng-ju. (2023). The effect of cumulative risk related to family adversity on social adjustment among left-behind children in China: The mediating role of stress and the moderating role of psychosocial resources. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 55(8), 1270-1284.

Figures/Tables 8

References 63

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Variable	LBC	NLBC	LBC(T1)-NLBC(T2)	NLBC(T1)-NLBC(T2)	Total
Male	134 (47.0%)	126 (43.9%)	23 (52.3%)	21 (60.0%)	304 (46.7%)
Female	151 (53.0%)	161 (56.1%)	21 (47.7%)	14 (40.0%)	347 (53.3%)
Primary school	146 (51.2%)	138 (48.1%)	24 (54.5%)	15 (42.9%)	323 (49.6%)
Junior high school	139 (48.8%)	149 (51.9%)	20 (45.5%)	20 (57.1%)	328 (50.4%)
Total	285	287	44	35	651

Variable	LBC	NLBC	LBC(T1)-NLBC(T2)	NLBC(T1)-NLBC(T2)	Total
Male	134 (47.0%)	126 (43.9%)	23 (52.3%)	21 (60.0%)	304 (46.7%)
Female	151 (53.0%)	161 (56.1%)	21 (47.7%)	14 (40.0%)	347 (53.3%)
Primary school	146 (51.2%)	138 (48.1%)	24 (54.5%)	15 (42.9%)	323 (49.6%)
Junior high school	139 (48.8%)	149 (51.9%)	20 (45.5%)	20 (57.1%)	328 (50.4%)
Total	285	287	44	35	651

Categories	n	T1 Social adjustment	T2 Social adjustment
LBC①	285	?0.16 ± 1.01	?0.11 ± 0.98
NLBC②	287	0.23 ± 0.90	0.12 ± 1.00
LBC(T1)-NLBC(T2)③	44	?0.59 ± 1.03	?0.11 ± 1.05
NLBC(T1)-LBC(T2)④	35	0.18 ± 1.14	0.04 ± 1.00
F(3, 647)		13.90^***	2.74^*
Post-hoc		③<①< ②④	①< ②

Categories	n	T1 Social adjustment	T2 Social adjustment
LBC①	285	?0.16 ± 1.01	?0.11 ± 0.98
NLBC②	287	0.23 ± 0.90	0.12 ± 1.00
LBC(T1)-NLBC(T2)③	44	?0.59 ± 1.03	?0.11 ± 1.05
NLBC(T1)-LBC(T2)④	35	0.18 ± 1.14	0.04 ± 1.00
F(3, 647)		13.90^***	2.74^*
Post-hoc		③<①< ②④	①< ②

T1 Number of CR related to FA	n (%)	T1 Social adjustment	T2 Social adjustment
0①	54 (18.9%)	0.34 ± 0.79	0.30 ± 0.90
1②	52 (18.2%)	0.34 ± 0.89	0.27 ± 0.99
2③	57 (20.0%)	?0.16 ± 0.98	?0.08 ± 0.87
3④	68 (23.9%)	?0.45 ± 0.96	?0.22 ± 0.83
4⑤	30 (10.5%)	?0.54 ± 0.94	?0.58 ± 0.90
≥5⑥	24 (8.4%)	?1.13 ± 0.83	?1.03 ± 1.04
F(5, 279)		14.27^***	10.90^***
Post-hoc		①②>③④⑤>⑥	①②>③④⑤⑥, ③>⑤⑥, ④>⑥