Anxiety and Emotional-Behavioral Problems of Adolescents in China: Evidence for A Serial Mediation Model of Alexithymia and Dependency

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p><jats:bold>Background: </jats:bold>High prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among Chinese adolescence has been reported. This study seeks to investigate the mediating effect of alexithymia and dependency on anxiety and emotional-behavioral problems among adolescents.The study focused a serial mediation model of alexithymia and dependency adolescents from Haikou, China.<jats:bold>Methods</jats:bold>: The study population included 519 adolescents. The assessments included the completion of standardized scales such as the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale (MASC), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Independent-sample t-tests, bivariate correlation, and serial mediation analyses were performed using SPSS23.0.<jats:bold>Results</jats:bold>: Bivariate analyses revealed that anxiety, emotional-behavioral problem, alexithymia, and dependency were positively correlated. Alexithymia and dependency play a significant role in mediating the effect of multidimensional anxiety on emotional-behavioral problems. The effects of the three mediating paths were 69.86%,17.81% and 12.33% for paths 1, 2 and 3 respectively.<jats:bold>Conclusions</jats:bold>: Anxiety and emotional-behavioral problems mediate the relationship between alexithymia and dependency.</jats:p>