Psychological Development and Education ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (2): 245-255.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2025.02.10

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The Longitudinal Effect of Harsh Parenting on Problem Behaviors of Left-behind Adolescents in Single-parent Custody

GAO Yemiao, BAI Rong, LI Jinwen, WANG Hui, LIU Xia   

  1. Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875
  • Published:2025-03-17

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Abstract: The present study used a longitudinal design, in which 855 rural adolescents completed a battery of questionnaires at two-time points, to explore the long-term effect and underlying mechanisms of harsh parenting on problem behaviors of left-behind adolescents in single-parent custody. The results showed that: (1) Harsh parenting had a long-term predictive effect on problem behaviors of both left-behind adolescents in single-parent custody and non-left-behind adolescents; (2) Harsh parenting had an indirect effect on problem behaviors of left-behind adolescents in single-parent custody by increasing their negative affect, while harsh parenting only had a direct predictive effect on problem behaviors among non-left-behind adolescents; (3) There was a significant interactive effect of friend support and harsh parenting on both negative affect and problem behavior among left-behind adolescents, and the interaction pattern was consistent with the compensation effect, i.e., the direct and indirect predictive effects of harsh parenting on adolescents’ problem behaviors were significantly weaker as the level of friend support increased, while the interaction effect did not occur among non-left-behind adolescents.

Key words: harsh parenting, problem behavior, negative affect, friend support, left-behind adolescents

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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