›› 2020, Vol. ›› Issue (1): 102-109.

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The relationship between parental control, interparental conflicts and psychological crisis in adolescents: perceived discrimination as a mediator

  

  • Received:2019-02-14 Revised:2019-09-24 Online:2020-01-15 Published:2020-01-20
  • Contact: Li Huanhuan

父母控制、父母婚姻冲突与中学生心理危机的关系:歧视知觉的中介作用

王淼,李欢欢,包佳敏,黄川   

  1. 中国人民大学
  • 通讯作者: 李欢欢

Abstract: 【Abstract】Due to immaturity in prefrontal cortex engagement to emotional development, adolescents are more vulnerable to crisis events which can affect adolescent's physical and mental health. A large body of research has documented the close association between family atmosphere and emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. Unhealthy family functioning as a psychological risk factor underlined adolescent’s crisis, including parenting style and interparental conflict, etc . Thus, the underlying mechanisms in the relationship between family atmosphere and its negative outcomes deserved much more attention. According to the psychological mediation model supposed by Hatzenbuehler (2009), perceived discrimination may play a mediating role in the relationship between crisis events and their negative outcomes in adolescents. As for adolescents' exposure to crisis events, the more perceived discrimination they feel, the more negative outcomes they have. To verify this theory, the present study was to explore the roles of parental control, interparental conflict, perceived discrimination in adolescent's crisis. A total of 568 participants (254 boys and 314 girls) were recruited from two middle schools in Beijing (Mean age=15.10 years, SD =1.08). All participants were required to complete the following questionnaires: Demographic Information Questionnaire (DIQ), Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), Children’s Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC), the Middle School Students Crisis Questionnaire (MSCQ), and the Middle School Students' Perceived Discrimination Questionnaire (MSPDQ). A cross-sectional design was used. Hierarchical regression was conducted to assess parental control, interparental conflict and perceived discrimination associated with crisis in adolescents, and analysis of Structural Equation Model was used to explore the interactive effects of unhealthy family atmosphere and perceived discrimination on adolescent's crisis. The results showed: ① The MSCQ scores in students with nonheterosexual orientation were significantly higher than those with heterosexual orientation, whereas the MSCQ scores did not vary with gender and grade;② Significant correlations were found between parental control, interparental conflict, perceived discrimination and adolescent's crisis; ③Interparental conflict was identified as the only statistically significant variable for predicting the adolescent's crisis after controlling for parental control and the demographic variables. ④The standardized path coefficients from interparental conflict to perceived discrimination, and from perceived discrimination to adolescent's crisis were significant; ⑤ No significant standardized path coefficients were found from parental control to perceived discrimination, and from parental control to adolescent's crisis. The current findings imply that unhealthy family atmosphere, including parental control and interparental conflict are involved in the pre-existing mechanisms of psychological crisis in adolescents. However, interparental conflict may have much more negative impacts on adolescent's crisis compared to parental control. Interparental conflict contribution to psychological crisis in adolescents was partially mediated through perceived discrimination. Future intervention must focus on disputing individual cognitive bias and confrontative coping skills to reduce perceived discrimination and psychological crisis in adolescents.

Key words: psychological crisis, interparental conflict, parental control, perceived discrimination, adolescent

摘要: 从歧视知觉的角度考察父母控制、父母婚姻冲突对中学生心理危机的作用机制。结果显示,父母控制和父母婚姻冲突显著正向预测中学生的心理危机水平,且父母婚姻冲突的预测力更强。歧视知觉在父母控制、父母婚姻冲突与中学生心理危机的关系中均起到部分中介作用。结果表明,与不良教养方式相比,父母婚姻冲突对中学生心理危机存在更严重的负面影响,这种影响部分通过中学生感知到的歧视水平增高来实现。

关键词: 心理危机, 父母婚姻冲突, 父母控制, 歧视知觉, 青少年