Abstract
Problem behaviors have always been a hot topic in the field of adolescent research. It is particularly important to study how problem behaviors are developed. Empirical evidence examining problem behaviors has shared the premise that perceived school climate and family functioning play a role in the development of problem behaviors in adolescents. However, it is less clear whether the interaction of perceived school climate and family functioning can predict problem behaviors in adolescents and which mechanisms within the process it might affect. The present study developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the relationship between perceived school climate, family functioning, psychological suzhi, and problem behaviors in early adolescents. Participants were 1,072 Chinese junior high school students who completed the Perceived School Climate Questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Psychological Suzhi Questionnaire for Middle School Students, and the Family APGAR scales. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0, including descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The mediating effect and moderating effect were tested by SPSS PROCESS. Results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between perceived school climate and problem behaviors and a partial mediating role of psychological suzhi between perceived school climate and problem behaviors. Moreover, the influence of perceived school climate on psychological suzhi was moderated by family functioning. Indirect effects were significant in participants with high versus low family functioning. There was an interaction between family and school, and psychological suzhi played an important role between environment and adolescent behaviors. This study validates the combined effect of family systems, school systems, and personal systems on problem behaviors and has certain guiding significance for the prevention and intervention of problem behaviors among adolescents.
Highlights
Problem behavior, which refers to adolescents’ learning and social maladjustment in changing environment, has been demonstrated to affect adolescents’ physical and mental health (Barber and Xia, 2013; Ryan et al, 2013) and to increase the likelihood of problem behaviors, such as fighting, smoking, and drinking in the future (Huang et al, 2012; Yang et al, 2013)
In contrast to the impact of individual variables on adolescent development, it is less clear whether perceived school climate and family functioning interact to predict problem behaviors in Chinese adolescents and which mechanisms within this process it might affect
We tested the following hypotheses that (1) perceived school climate will play a role in problem behaviors in Chinese early adolescents, (2) psychological suzhi will mediate the relationship between perceived school climate and problem behaviors, and (3) family functioning will moderate the path from perceived school climate to psychological suzhi
Summary
Problem behavior, which refers to adolescents’ learning and social maladjustment in changing environment, has been demonstrated to affect adolescents’ physical and mental health (Barber and Xia, 2013; Ryan et al, 2013) and to increase the likelihood of problem behaviors, such as fighting, smoking, and drinking in the future (Huang et al, 2012; Yang et al, 2013). In contrast to the impact of individual variables on adolescent development, it is less clear whether perceived school climate and family functioning interact to predict problem behaviors in Chinese adolescents and which mechanisms within this process it might affect (considering individual variables within Chinese cultural characteristics, e.g. psychological suzhi). Considering that psychological suzhi and mental health are related by “essence” and “surface” (Zhang and Wang, 2012), the present study hypothesizes that family functioning will play a moderator role between perceived school climate and psychological suzhi (H3). The present study aims to figure out (1) the effect of perceived school climate on problem behaviors in Chinese early adolescents; (2) the intermediary mechanism of psychological suzhi; and (3) the moderating role of family functioning between perceived school climate and psychological suzhi by building a moderated mediating model.
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