Citation

Xiong Y, Wang H, Wang Q, Liu X. Psychol. Res. Behav. Manag. 2019; 12: 961-971.

Affiliation

Institute of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People's Republic of China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Dove Press)

DOI

10.2147/PRBM.S219249

PMID

31632167

PMCID

PMC6791336

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Left-behind adolescents who are from father-migrant/mother caregiver families have become the main type of left-behind children in China. The migratory of fathers not only makes left-behind adolescents suffer more difficulties but also causes left-behind women to face the challenge of raising the child alone. This study examined the association among peer victimization, maternal psychological control, and adjustment problems among Chinese rural left-behind adolescents. Furthermore, we first explored the moderating role of maternal behavioral control in this relationship.

METHODS: Using cross-sectional design, we recruited 194 left-behind adolescents (49% girls; mean age = 13.51, SD = 1.03) from four junior schools in the Guizhou province of China. Left-behind adolescents completed a battery of self-report questionnaires regarding peer victimization, maternal control, self-injury behaviors, depression, and loneliness.

RESULTS: The hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that both peer victimization and maternal psychological control were positively associated with self-injury behaviors, depression, and loneliness. Moreover, maternal behavioral control played a dual role in the impact of peer victimization on self-injury behaviors depending on the levels of maternal psychological control. When left-behind women exerted high psychological control on their children, maternal behavioral control buffered the negative effect of peer victimization on self-injury behaviors. However, when left-behind women exerted low psychological control on their children, maternal behavioral control exacerbated the negative effect of peer victimization on self-injury behaviors.

CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the effectiveness of behavioral control may depend on different situations, left-behind women should be cautious in exerting behavioral control over their children.

© 2019 Xiong et al.

Language: en

Keywords

behavioral control; left-behind adolescents; peer victimization; psychological adjustment; psychological control