Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Nov 2023)
The Impact of Academic Pressure and Peer Support on Adolescents’ Loneliness: A Polynomial Regression and Response Surface Analysis
Abstract
Zhensong Lan,1 Huaqiang Liu,2,3 Xuefang Huang,4 Qing Wang,5 Fafang Deng,1 Juchao Li6 1School of Public Administration, Hechi University, Yizhou, Guangxi, 546300, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Law and Public Administration, Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, 644000, People’s Republic of China; 3Yibin Ronghe Social Work Service Center, Yibin, Sichuan, 644000, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Teacher Education, Hechi University, Yizhou, Guangxi, 546300, People’s Republic of China; 5Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330013, People’s Republic of China; 6School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Huaqiang Liu, School of Law and Public Administration, Yibin University, 8 Jiusheng Road, Cuiping District, Yibin, Sichuan, 644000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13060000980, Email [email protected]: To explore the impact of the match between academic pressure and peer support on adolescents’ sense of loneliness and examine whether social connectedness played a mediating role, using a polynomial regression and response surface analysis.Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1277 adolescents from two cities in Sichuan Province, China, to investigate their academic pressure, peer support, social connectedness, and sense of loneliness.Results: (1) Adolescents’ sense of loneliness positively correlated with their level of academic pressure and negatively correlated with their degree of peer support. (2) Social connectedness played a mediating role in the relationship between academic pressure, peer support, and sense of loneliness. (3) Adolescents with high academic pressure and low peer support had weaker social connectedness than those with low academic pressure and high peer support. (4) Adolescents with high academic pressure and high peer support had stronger social connectedness than those with low academic pressure and low peer support.Discussion: The study revealed the mechanism through which a match (or mismatch) between academic pressure and peer support influenced adolescents’ sense of loneliness and validated the mediating role of social connectedness. The study enriches the developmental theory of adolescent loneliness and provides research experience for future interventions targeting adolescent loneliness.Keywords: academic pressure, peer support, social connectedness, loneliness, adolescents, polynomial regression and response surface analysis
