The mediating role of resilience and self-esteem between negative life events and positive social adjustment among left-behind adolescents in China: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background In China, adolescents are frequently left behind by their parents. A great deal of scientific evidence demonstrates considerable psychological and social impacts that negative life events may have on adolescents who are left behind. While a direct relationship between negative life events and psychological and social effects has been observed, indirect effects have yet to be examined. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the association between negative life events and positive social adjustment and how resilience and self-esteem mediate this association. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in the provinces of Shandong, Henan, and Sichuan in China. A questionnaire was distributed to 4716 left-behind adolescents in ten middle/high schools. We performed Bayesian estimations in structural equation modeling using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to test our hypotheses. Results Negative life events were significantly related to resilience ( r s = − 0.402), self-esteem ( r s = − 0.292), and positive social adjustment ( r s = − 0.239). Positive social adjustment was directly affected by resilience ( β = 0.639) and self-esteem ( β = 0.448). Negative life events were not only directly related to positive social adjustment ( β = − 0.187, 95% credible interval: − 0.233 ~ − 0.139), but also showed an indirect effect on positive social adjustment ( β = − 0.541, 95% credible interval: − 0.583 ~ − 0.501) through resilience ( β = − 0.370) and self-esteem ( β = − 0.171). The total effect of negative life events on positive social adjustment was − 0.728, where 74.31% was mediated by resilience and self-esteem. The indirect effect of negative life events on positive social adjustment through resilience and self-esteem was 2.893 times more than the direct effect. Conclusions Resilience and self-esteem mediated most of the effect of negative life events on positive social adjustment. Interventions should be developed to improve the social adjustment of adolescents who are left behind, particularly the enhancement of resilience and self-esteem. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-019-2219-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Self-esteem, Social support and coping Strategies of left-behind Children in Rural China, and the intermediary role of subjective support

“…Some research results are consistent with our conclusions. Two study found a signi cant correlation between the positive coping strategies of such children and their own mental health [17,38]. Zhao and colleagues concluded that the experience of being left behind made these children use more negative coping strategies to deal with di culties, which could result in mental health problems [40].…”

“…Numerous empirical studies have shown that social support signi cantly related to one's level of selfesteem [17,18]. Social support is a broad concept, which in a broad sense refers to instrumental assistance (such as helping with work), emotional assistance (such as providing encouragement) or informational assistance (such as informing someone that there is a job opportunity) from others.…”

“…Individuals with high social support tend to have high self-esteem personality traits, and the level of selfesteem is also related to the level of problem-solving [17,30].…”

Height and Self-Esteem as the Determinants of Psychological Adjustment in Students in Punjab, Pakistan

“…Further, Zeigler-Hill & Wallace, (2012) also proven linked between self-esteem and adjustment problems. Social adjustment may also hinder the self-esteem in adolescents (Gao et al, 2019).…”

“…These may resultant in lowering the adjustment level (Zeigler-Hill & Wallace, 2012). Another study established the fact that social adjustment can be directly affected by the self-esteem in adolescents (Gao et al, 2019).…”