Longitudinal relations among parent-child relationships, positivity, and teachers-student relationships in Chinese children

Sch Psychol. 2024 Mar;39(2):201-212. doi: 10.1037/spq0000552. Epub 2023 Jun 1.

Abstract

Relationships with parents and teachers are crucial to a child's socialization. However, little is known about the transactional processes between parent-child and teachers-student relationships and their mediating mechanisms. This short-term longitudinal study examined bidirectional relations between positive parent-child and teachers-student relationships, and the potential mediating role of positivity within these relations. There were 3,450 Chinese children (44.8% girls; Mage = 10.93 years) who participated in a four-wave longitudinal study, spaced 6 months apart. The random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling found: (a) both father-child and mother-child relationships directly predicted teachers-student relationships, and vice versa; (b) positivity functioned as a mediator in bidirectional relations between parent-child and teachers-student relationships. These results support a transactional spillover effect between parent-child and teachers-student relationships, suggesting Chinese children may become caught in a virtuous cycle either directly or indirectly via their positivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • China
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Parent-Child Relations*
  • Socialization*
  • Students