Self-esteem as a mediator in the longitudinal relationship between dysfunctional parenting and peer attachment in early adolescence

Abstract

This study investigated the causal relationship between dysfunctional parenting and peer attachment, as well as the longitudinal mediating role of self-esteem, in early adolescence. Moreover, this study examined whether there were sex differences in these longitudinal relationships. This study used three-wave longitudinal data—measured at the fifth grade of elementary school, the sixth grade of elementary school, and the first grade of middle school—of 1,831 adolescents (935 boys and 896 girls; mean age = 10.98 ± 0.17 years at the first wave) who participated in the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey. Autoregressive cross-lagged modeling analysis revealed the following: regardless of adolescents’ sex, the negative effects of dysfunctional parenting on self-esteem and the positive effects of self-esteem on peer attachment were all significant over time, while the levels of dysfunctional parenting, self-esteem, and peer attachment all remained stable over the three-year period. Furthermore, self-esteem partially mediated the longitudinal relationship between dysfunctional parenting and peer attachment for girls, whereas self-esteem completely mediated the relationship for boys. The results suggest the needs for lifelong parental education—provided from elementary school to parenthood—and for parents’ and teachers’ continued attention to peer relationships in early adolescence. Further, tailored interventions should consider the degree of vulnerability of dysfunctional parenting by adolescents’ sex and promote their self-esteem.