Parental educational anxiety (PEA) has become an increasingly salient issue in global educational systems, especially in East Asian societies where academic competition is intense. Although previous studies have identified associations between parental educational anxiety and negative adolescent outcomes, the mechanisms underlying this association remain inadequately understood. Guided by family systems theory, this cross-sectional study investigated the pathways linking parental educational anxiety to adolescent problem behaviors, using survey data from 1131 Chinese adolescents and their parents. Results revealed four key findings: First, parental educational anxiety was weakly but statistically correlated with adolescent problem behaviors. Second, psychological control partially mediated this relationship. Third, a serial mediation pathway was identified in which psychological control negatively affected the parent-child relationship. Fourth, gender differences were observed. For boys, psychological control and parent-child relationship acted as independent mediators. For girls, only the serial mediation effect was significant. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the "anxiety-control-estrangement" pathway in Chinese families and provide a theoretical basis for family-oriented interventions aimed at reducing adolescent behavioral problems.

Family income is an important factor that affects depression in children and can indirectly be associated with children’s development through family and individual factors. However, few studies have examined the mechanism of multiple risk factors. Therefore, this study focused on the relationship between family income and child depression, as well as the chain mediating the roles of parental involvement and children’s self-esteem both in single-parent families and intact families. A total of 1355 primary school students completed questionnaires that assessed family income, parental involvement, children’s self-esteem, and depression. The results showed that family income influenced child depression through both the mediating roles of parental involvement and children’s self-esteem and the chain mediating role of parental involvement and children’s self-esteem. Meanwhile, family income only influenced child depression through chain mediation in single-parent families. The group differences in the mechanism of depression provide a reference for empirical research on depression intervention in children from different family structures.

In China, grandparents play a significant role in childrearing. This study aims to identify latent profiles of intergenerational parenting styles and explore their impact on grandchildren’s behavioral outcomes. A total of 1432 Chinese children (M_age = 12.58 years; 45.25% boys) completed questionnaires assessing perceived grandparenting styles, while fathers and mothers independently reported their own parenting practices. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) identified three distinct parenting profiles: “Grandparents Positive–Parents Negative” (GP–PN, 18.37%), “Grandparents Positive–Parents Positive” (GP–PP, 59.15%), and “Grandparents Negative–Parents Positive” (GN–PP, 22.48%). Regression analyses revealed that the number of siblings, grade level, and grandparent type could significantly predict profile membership. Notably, consistent and positive intergenerational parenting styles were associated with fewer problem behaviors in children. Furthermore, the relationship between parenting profiles and problem behaviors was mediated by the quality of the grandparent–parent relationship. These findings suggested that grandparents and parents should coordinate their parenting styles when raising grandchildren together.

This study examined the associations between parental psychological control and real-life social avoidance among college students, focusing on the chain mediating roles of basic psychological needs and problematic smartphone use, as well as the moderating role of interpersonal sensitivity. A total of 1879 college students participated in the study. The results revealed that parental psychological control is positively associated with college students’ social avoidance behavior. Furthermore, basic psychological needs and problematic smartphone use played significant sequential mediating roles in this association. Moreover, a sequential mediation pathway was found through basic psychological needs and problematic smartphone use. Additionally, interpersonal sensitivity was identified as a significant moderator, moderating the strength of the association between parental psychological control, and basic psychological needs. These findings provide important evidence for understanding the correlational mechanisms associated with real-life social avoidance among college students and offer practical insights for the development of intervention strategies.

This study explores the influence of congruence and incongruence in father–mother co-parenting on adolescent depression, as well as the mediating effect of self-esteem. A total of 1389 adolescents completed questionnaires assessing their levels of depression and self-esteem, while their fathers and mothers correspondingly reported on their own co-parenting behaviors using the Parental Co-parenting Scale in this cross-sectional study. Dates were analyzed using LPA, RSA, and mediation consecutively. The results show that: (1) We identified three distinct co-parenting profiles: positive parental co-parenting, negative parental co-parenting, and mixed parental co-parenting. (2) In cases of congruent parental co-parenting, high positive parental co-parenting was associated with lower adolescent depression, whereas high negative parental co-parenting was linked to higher depression, and the difference manifests in different forms among boys and girls. Girls showed nonlinear changes in depression while boys exhibited linear trends. (3) In cases of incongruence in parental co-parenting, mothers’ co-parenting exerted a stronger influence on boys’ depression, while girls were not affected by mothers’ and fathers’ discrepancies. (4) Self-esteem mediated the relationship between parental co-parenting (in)congruence and depression across both genders. This study provides evidence for the mechanism through which parental coparenting influences adolescent depression and offers a basis for future interventions targeting adolescent depression.