Family Cohesion and School Belonging in Preadolescence: Examining the Mediating Role of Security and Achievement Goals

Abstract

Abstract. There have been plenty of researches about how to improve a sense of school belonging. However, few of the studies start from the cooperation of family and school. This study utilizes a sample of 365 students aged from 7 years old to 20 years old to reveal the relationships of family cohesion and school belonging. The mediating effects of security and achievement goals are also examined. The correlational results indicate that family cohesion is positively and significantly associated with school belonging, interpersonal security and mastery goals. School belonging links to interpersonal security, mastery goals, performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals positively and prominently. The structural model manifests that family cohesion can predict school belonging not only positively and directly but also via the mediating role of interpersonal security and achievement goals, which only includes mastery-oriented goals, namely mastery goals and performance-approach goals. This research suggests that the cooperation of family and school is effective and emphasizes the importance of mental wellbeing as the mediator.

The Mediational Role of Self-Support Personality in the Association of Family Function and School Belonging in Adolescents

“…It can be seen that family cohesion is a powerful guarantee for cultivating healthy individuals and for students to better integrate into the school. At the same time, previous studies have proved that family cohesion can significantly and positively predict school belonging ( Qin et al, 2015 ).…”

“…The focus of cohesion construction is how the family system balances the separation and unity of its members ( Olson, 2000 ). Adolescents from cohesive families showed more life satisfaction and social inclusion, while adolescents from divorced families showed more aggression and hostility ( Qin et al, 2015 ). The higher the degree of family members’ love for each other, the higher the individual’s subjective satisfaction with family functions and the more the individual can solve the basic personal life problems encountered by themselves ( Yang et al, 2014 ).…”

Family Cohesion and Sleep Disturbances During COVID-19: the Mediating Roles of Security and Stress

“…A primary function of families is to promote the positive growth of youth (Aydin & Oztutuncu, 2001;Gardner & Cutrona, 2004). Positive familial environments protect at-risk youths from negative environmental influences (Kliewer et al, 2006;Qin et al, 2015) and subsequent development of maladaptive psychological and behavioral outcomes by providing a foundation for fostering interpersonal security (Cummings et al, 2015;Ye, Lei et al, 2021;Ye, Fan, et al, Working Paper). Maslow's hierarchy of needs holds that a sense of security is the subjective cognition and reaction to one's own security state separated from anxiety and fear (Cong & An, 2004;Maslow et al, 1945).…”

Perceived stress and insomnia under the period of COVID-19: The mediating role of sense of security and the moderating role of family cohesion

“…Prior studies have shown that family cohesion has a positive effect on one's sense of security (e.g., Davies et al, 2006;Cummings et al, 2010) and serves as a protective factor for individuals' emotional adaptation (Bannink et al, 2013;Letourneau et al, 2011). In other words, the stronger the family cohesion that one perceives, the higher their sense of security (Kliewer et al, 2006;Qin et al, 2015). Indeed, individual characteristics may interact with environmental factors to influence one's trajectory of development (Magnusson & Stattin, 1998).…”