Abstract
Grounded in social–ecological system theory, the present study tested the mediating effects of maternal psychological flexibility and mother–adolescent attachment on the relationship between maternal adult attachment and adolescent anxiety as well as the moderating effects of teacher support and peer support on the relationship between mother–adolescent attachment and adolescent anxiety. In total, 1139 Chinese mothers and adolescents completed a set of questionnaires, including the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, Parental Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The results revealed that maternal adult attachment had a positive impact on adolescent anxiety. The relationship between maternal adult attachment and adolescent anxiety was chain mediated by maternal psychological flexibility and mother–adolescent attachment. In addition, teacher support and peer support had moderating effects on the relationship between mother–adolescent attachment and adolescent anxiety. These findings support the systematic social ecosystem perspective and highlight the differences in the effects of different maternal adult attachment styles, teacher support, and peer support on adolescent anxiety.
Highlights
Do maternal psychological flexibility and mother–adolescent attachment mediate the relationship between maternal adult attachment and adolescent anxiety? Do teacher support and peer support moderate the relationship between mother–adolescent attachment and adolescent anxiety? The answers to these questions are important for achieving a better understanding of the causes of anxiety
This study found that mother–adolescent attachment has a stronger resistance to adolescent anxiety under high teacher support than under high peer support, indicating that compared with peers, teachers have a greater effect on reducing adolescent anxiety
The present study adds to the growing literature concerning the association between maternal adult attachment and adolescent anxiety
Summary
Anxiety is a common psychological health problem [1]. Adolescents with anxiety often experience other adaptation problems during adolescence, such as pathological internet use [2], sleeping problems [3], substance abuse [4,5], and poor academic performance [6]. According to the microsystem concept in social–ecological systems theory, family and school play important mutually interacting roles through which they jointly affect adolescent mental health [8]. Kim et al [9] suggested that mothers play an important role in adolescent anxiety. Teachers and peers can play roles in adolescent anxiety [10,11]. Teachers and peers will have an impact on adolescents’ anxiety. No study has incorporated mothers, teachers, and peers into the same model to investigate the influencing factors of adolescents’ anxiety. Based on the theory of social ecosystems, this study examines the influencing factors of mothers, teachers, and peers on adolescents’ anxiety from a two-way perspective of mothers and adolescents.
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