Parenting Style and Emotional Distress Among Chinese College Students: A Potential Mediating Role of the Zhongyong Thinking Style.

Yanfei Hou,Fei Peng,Yu Chen,Rong Xiao,Xihua Zeng,Xiaoyuan Zhang,Shegang Zhou,Xueling Yang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01774

Abstract

Previous studies suggested that parenting style was associated with college student’s emotional distress. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this relation in Chinese culture. The present study investigated the associations between parenting style and college student’s emotional distress (depression and anxiety symptoms), examined the mediating effects of Confucian personality-Zhongyong thinking, and explored whether gender, age, and socioeconomic status (SES) moderated the direct and/or indirect effects of parenting style on emotional distress. Results from a large representative sample of Chinese college students (n = 3943) indicated that (a) parental rejection and overprotection was positively and mildly associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms and negatively and mildly related to Zhongyong thinking. Parental warmth significantly correlated with the three variables in the opposite direction; Zhongyong thinking correlated negatively and moderately with depression, and mildly with anxiety; (b) Zhongyong thinking partially mediated the associations of parental rejection and warmth with emotional distress. Specifically, to the extent that students perceived less rejection and more warmth, they were more likely to develop Zhongyong thinking associated with decreased emotional distress; (c) gender and SES moderated the association between parenting style and Zhongyong thinking. Specifically, for students with low SES, the negative relationship between parental overprotection and Zhongyong thinking was stronger; for males and high SES students, the positive link between parental warmth and Zhongyong thinking were stronger. Results highlight the importance of researching potential effects of college student’s Zhongyong thinking within the family system in Chinese culture.

Highlights

Depressive and anxiety symptoms are among the most important public health issues globally, and these common mental health problems increasingly affect college students (Patel et al, 2007; Auerbach et al, 2018)
The results indicated that parental rejection and parental warmth had a significant negative and positive association with Zhongyong thinking, respectively, (β = −0.13, p < 0.001; β = 0.28, p < 0.001)
Consistent with the hypothesis, the current study showed that parenting style was mildly associated with emotional distress among Chinese college students and that Zhongyong thinking mediated the relationships between them

Summary

Introduction

Depressive and anxiety symptoms are among the most important public health issues globally, and these common mental health problems increasingly affect college students (Patel et al, 2007; Auerbach et al, 2018). A metaanalysis of 32,694 Chinese college students indicated that the prevalence of depressive symptoms among them was 23.8% (Lei et al, 2016). These symptoms interfere with the way they think, feel, and act; limit their academic achievements and ability to be economically productive; and lead to psychological disorders and sometimes suicide (Nguyen et al, 2013). The potential factors that contribute to college student’s emotional distress and the mechanisms urgently need to be studied.

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Results

Conclusion