Family intimacy and adolescent peer relationships: investigating the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of self-identity

Abstract

According to existing research, family intimacy affects the formation of peer relationships among adolescents; Parent–child relationships may influence children’s relationships with peers, but the mechanism of its influence is still unclear due to the uncertainty of its effect. According to the ecological systems theory, this study examines how family intimacy affects adolescent peer relationships through psychological capital and how self-identity moderates this effect. These hypotheses were tested based on a survey of 414 adolescents, which showed that family intimacy positively affects adolescent peer relationships; The relationship between family intimacy and adolescent peer relationships is mediated by psychological capital; Self-identity positively moderates the direct effects of family intimacy and adolescent peer relationships; Self-identity not only positively moderates the direct effect of psychological capital and adolescent peer relationship, but also positively moderates the indirect effect of family intimacy on adolescent peer relationship through psychological capital. This study provides new perspectives on the relevant mechanism of family intimacy and adolescent peer relationships.

Emphasizing symbolic capital: its superior influence on the association between family socioeconomic status and adolescent subjective well-being uncovered by a large-scale multivariate network analysis

“…The findings suggest that parents’ educational level and occupational status have stronger associations with components of SSWB, particularly student cooperation, than other FSES indicators, thereby establishing a connection between FSES and SSWB. As previous youth development research has indicated, adolescence is a crucial developmental period where peer relationships become a priority ( Zhou et al, 2023 ). Peer relationships become more prominent during adolescence as they place greater importance on the expectations and acceptance of their peers ( Xu et al, 2022 ).…”