Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar 28;9(4):e14955.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14955. eCollection 2023 Apr.

The association between peer rejection and behavior problems of migrant adolescents in China: A moderated mediation model of delinquent peer affiliation and parenting

Lei Dong  1 , Wenyan Hu  2 , Li Shen  1
Affiliations

The association between peer rejection and behavior problems of migrant adolescents in China: A moderated mediation model of delinquent peer affiliation and parenting

Lei Dong et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Facing a stressful environment of peer rejection and discrimination, Chinese migrant adolescents are at high risk of developing behavior problems while receiving insufficient family support. In this context, the current study aimed to explore the pathway from peer rejection to adolescent behavior problems via the mediating role of delinquent peer affiliation and with the moderating roles of parental company and parental monitoring taken into consideration. A sample of 2041 migrant adolescents (46.2% female, mean age = 13.595) was drawn from the first and second waves of the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) for running a moderated mediation model. The results demonstrated that peer rejection positively predicted behavior problems through the mediator of delinquent peer affiliation (indirect effect = 0.007, 95% CI = [0.003, 0.014]). This mediating mechanism was moderated by parental company and by parental monitoring. Our study deepened the theoretical understanding and application of the general strain theory by showing how the interaction of peer stressors and parenting elements affected the behavior of migrant adolescents in a Chinese context. Further studies could pay more attention to the dynamic interplay between the family and peer systems, especially for rejected and marginalized adolescent groups. Limitations and implications for future school-based and family-based practices are also discussed.

Keywords: Adolescent; Behavior problems; Delinquent peer affiliation; Parenting; Peer rejection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Process macro model NO. 21. Note. X refers to independent variable, Y refers to dependent variable, M refers to mediator, W refers to moderator 1, and Z refers to moderator 2.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The interaction between peer rejection and parental company on delinquent peer affiliation. Note. Parental company as a moderator of the relationship between peer rejection and delinquent peer affiliation. The function was graphed for two levels of independent variable and moderator: 1 SD above the mean and 1 SD below the mean.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The interaction between delinquent peer affiliation and parental monitoring on behavior problems. Note. Parental monitoring as a moderator of the relationship between delinquent peer affiliation and behavior problems. The function was graphed for two levels of independent variable and moderator: 1 SD above the mean and 1 SD below the mean.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The moderated mediation model. Note. Parameter estimates are unstandardized coefficients. For simplicity of presentation, control variables are not shown. *p < .05; ***p < .001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Steinberg L., Silk J.S. Handbook of Parenting: Children and Parenting. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2002. Parenting adolescents; pp. 103–133.
    1. Dodge K.A., Dishion T.J., Lansford J.E. Deviant peer influences in intervention and public policy for youth. Soc. Pol. Rep. 2006;20:1–20. doi: 10.1002/j.2379-3988.2006.tb00046.x. - DOI
    1. Lacourse E., Coté S., Nagin D.S., Vitaro F., Brendgen M., Tremblay R.E. A longitudinal–experimental approach to testing theories of antisocial behavior development. Dev. Psychopathol. 2002;14:909–924. doi: 10.1017/S0954579402004121. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Véronneau M.H., Dishion T.J. Predicting change in early adolescent problem behavior in the middle school years: a mesosystemic perspective on parenting and peer experiences. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 2010;38:1125–1137. doi: 10.1007/s10802-010-9431-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Racz S.J., McMahon R.J. The relationship between parental knowledge and monitoring and child and adolescent conduct problems: a 10-year update. Clin. Child Fam. Psychol. Rev. 2011;14:377–398. doi: 10.1007/s10567-011-0099-y. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources