Abstract
This longitudinal study investigated the role of psychological difficulties and self-efficacy in the relationship between family cumulative risk and hope among children from low-income families. The participants were 392 Chinese children from low-income families; the study extended for 2 years, and participants completed data that were collected with the following questionnaires: the Family Cumulative Risk Index, Children's Hope Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Difficulties subscale, and General Self-efficacy Scale. The results demonstrated that psychological difficulties played a mediating role in the relationship between family cumulative risk and hope; specifically, family cumulative risk predicted hope of children via psychological difficulties. Self-efficacy moderated the relationship between psychological difficulties and hope. This moderation supported “a drop in the ocean effect”; the protective effect of high self-efficacy worked only when psychological difficulties were at low levels. When psychological difficulties were at high levels, the buffering effect of self-efficacy on family cumulative risk was gradually weakened and eventually lost.
Highlights
In 1986, the Chinese government implemented a compulsory education policy—that it upholds to this day—providing education for grades 1 to 9 at no cost and requiring children to attend school through at least ninth grade
The samples at each follow-up survey did not differ in sex, T1 family cumulative risk (FCR), T1 psychological difficulties, T1 self-efficacy, and T1 hope scores (p > 0.05 for all)
Our results showed that most Chinese children from low-income families experienced family risk; this concurs with existing research (Burlaka et al, 2015; Asfour et al, 2017; Weitkamp and Seiffge-Krenke, 2019)
Summary
In 1986, the Chinese government implemented a compulsory education policy—that it upholds to this day—providing education for grades 1 to 9 at no cost and requiring children to attend school through at least ninth grade. Many students drop out of junior high school each year. Economic factors have been regarded as a major cause for dropping out of school (Brown and Park, 2002). Poverty has been significantly correlated with dropout behavior (Mo et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2015), mainly owing to high tuition costs post-ninth grade in China. Among impoverished rural Chinese students, one study upheld that 14% of the students had left school in the first month of ninth grade (Yi et al, 2012). Low-income households have been associated with poor health and increased risk for mental health problems, and these can persist throughout childhood and adulthood of an individual (Hodgkinson et al, 2017)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
