This study aimed to examine the associations between marital relationships and parent–child relationships on children’s mental health. Participants included 19,487 students from the 2013–2014 baseline China Education Panel Survey. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data and results revealed that marital and parent–child relationships positively affected children’s mental health. Parent–child relationship also played a mediating role between marital relationship and children’s mental health. The unique contributions of this study and its theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Using the data of 1314 underprivileged children in Xiushui, China, this study adopted an ecological framework to explore how social capital embedded in family, peer, school, and community interplay and affect the mental health of poor children. Structural equation modeling was employed to verify the hypothesized model. The results demonstrated that higher levels of family, peer, and school social capital were all associated with better mental health outcomes of children in poverty. Moreover, family, peer, and school social capital fully mediated the effect of community social capital on children’s mental health. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.