Family cohesion and adolescent self-esteem: mediating effects of interpersonal self-support and moderating role of school attachment
- 1College of Educational Sciences, Hunan University of Arts and Sciences
- 2College of Educational Sciences, Hunan Normal University
- 3No. 2 Middle School of Linli County
Abstract
Introduction: Adolescent mental health is a pressing global concern, and in collectivist societies such as China, family and school contexts are particularly influential. This study examined whether interpersonal self-support mediates the association between family cohesion and self-esteem among Chinese adolescents and whether school attachment moderates the first stage of that mediation pathway.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 728 adolescents (mean age = 13.81 years, SD = 0.91, range 12–16; 44.0% male) from five public junior high schools in Hunan Province, China. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted in Mplus 8.3, and the moderated mediation model was tested with Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 7) in SPSS 27 using observed variables and 5,000 bootstrap samples.
Results: Family cohesion was positively associated with self-esteem and with interpersonal self-support, and interpersonal self-support partially mediated the family cohesion–self-esteem association. School attachment moderated the first stage of the mediation pathway, b = 0.076, 95% CI [0.024, 0.128], Δ R ² = .008: the positive association between family cohesion and interpersonal self-support was significant at all levels of school attachment and was stronger among adolescents reporting higher school attachment, and the conditional indirect effect increased from 0.107 at low to 0.153 at high school attachment.
Discussion: The indirect pathway was secondary to the direct association between family cohesion and self-esteem, and the moderation effect was modest. Because the design was cross-sectional and self-reported, these associations should not be interpreted causally. The findings suggest that schools may support the benefits of family cohesion for adolescent self-esteem by strengthening teacher-student relationships and cultivating a sense of belonging.
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BibTeX
@article{yao2026family,
title = {{Family cohesion and adolescent self-esteem: mediating effects of interpersonal self-support and moderating role of school attachment}},
author = {Zhendong Yao and Yuhang Luo},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1828156},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1828156/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Family cohesion and adolescent self-esteem: mediating effects of interpersonal self-support and moderating role of school attachment
AU - Zhendong Yao
AU - Yuhang Luo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1828156
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1828156/full
AB - Introduction: Adolescent mental health is a pressing global concern, and in collectivist societies such as China, family and school contexts are particularly influential. This study examined whether interpersonal self-support mediates the association between family cohesion and self-esteem among Chinese adolescents and whether school attachment moderates the first stage of that mediation pathway. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 728 adolescents (mean age = 13.81 years, SD = 0.91, range 12–16; 44.0% male) from five public junior high schools in Hunan Province, China. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted in Mplus 8.3, and the moderated mediation model was tested with Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 7) in SPSS 27 using observed variables and 5,000 bootstrap samples. Results: Family cohesion was positively associated with self-esteem and with interpersonal self-support, and interpersonal self-support partially mediated the family cohesion–self-esteem association. School attachment moderated the first stage of the mediation pathway, b = 0.076, 95% CI [0.024, 0.128], Δ R ² = .008: the positive association between family cohesion and interpersonal self-support was significant at all levels of school attachment and was stronger among adolescents reporting higher school attachment, and the conditional indirect effect increased from 0.107 at low to 0.153 at high school attachment. Discussion: The indirect pathway was secondary to the direct association between family cohesion and self-esteem, and the moderation effect was modest. Because the design was cross-sectional and self-reported, these associations should not be interpreted causally. The findings suggest that schools may support the benefits of family cohesion for adolescent self-esteem by strengthening teacher-student relationships and cultivating a sense of belonging.
SN - 1664-0640
ER -