Parent–Child Relationships and Adolescents’ Non-Cognitive Skills: Role of Social Anxiety and Number of Friends

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the association between parent–child relationships and adolescents’ non-cognitive skills, while also investigating the mediating effect of social anxiety and number of friends. A survey was conducted with 773 students, ranging from grade 4 to 9, in five public schools of Guangdong Province of China (49.9% male), with a mean age of 12.20 years old. Latent mediation structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that (1) the father–child relationship and mother–child relationship both had a positive influence on grit, innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; (2) social anxiety had a negative effect on adolescent non-cognitive skills including innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; (3) the number of positive friends was found to be positively associated with the development of non-cognitive skills in adolescents, whereas the presence of negative friends correlated negatively with grit but positively with innovation; (4) social anxiety emerged as a significant mediating variable between parent–child relationships and adolescents’ non-cognitive skills, including innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; and (5) the mediating effect of the number of positive friends on the relationship between parent–child relationships and grit, innovation, conscientiousness, and hope was also found to be significant. Educational programs and family interventions should take these factors into account, providing a more holistic approach to supporting adolescent growth.

Keywords

• parent–child relationships
• social anxiety
• non-cognitive skills
• number of positive and negative friends