Family Functioning and Adolescents Behavioral Problems in Mainland China: Positive Youth Development As a Mediator

Background and Purpose: This study compared Chinese adolescents’ behavioral problems before and after the outbreak of the pandemic and examined the mediating effects of positive youth development (PYD) attributes on the relationship between family functioning (FF) and adolescents’ behavioral problems. This research aimed to explore (1) the changes in family functioning, PYD, and behavioral problems among Chinese adolescents after the pandemic outbreak; (2) the correlations among family functioning, PYD, and behavioral problems; and (3) the potential mediating effect of PYD on the pathway from family functioning to behavioral problems.

Methods: Two waves of data were collected from a large sample of adolescents (N = 3,382; age = 14.46 ± 0.95 years; 49.8% = male) and their parents (N = 3,382) in Sichuan, China, before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19. The parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to measure adolescents’ problem behaviors; family functioning and PYD attributes were measured by students’ self-reported Family Assessment Device and the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale. Paired samples t-tests were adopted to examine changes of adolescents’ behavioral problems and family functioning before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Correlation analyses were conducted to explore the relationships among family functioning, PYD, and behavioral problems. The mediation effects of PYD on the pathway from family functioning to adolescent behavioral problems were examined via structural equation modeling.

Results: Paired samples t-tests showed that adolescents’ behavioral problems behavior (withdraw, somatic complaints, anxious and depression, rule-breaking behaviors, aggressive behaviors, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, and sexual problems) decreased after the outbreak of the pandemic. In terms of family functioning, family mutuality experienced a significantly declined, and parental concern and parental control experienced a significantly increased after the outbreak of the pandemic.However, the total score of family functioning didn’t show statistically significantly changes. Binary inter-correlation analysis showed that all factors of family functioning at wave 1 were positively related to all nine types of behavioral problems at wave 2, and PYD at wave 1 was negatively related to all nine types of behavioral problems at wave 2 among Chinese adolescents. After controlling for adolescents’ age, gender, and scores of CBCL in wave 1, structural equation modeling showed that PYD attributes at wave 1 partially mediate the impact of family functioning at wave 1 on adolescent behavioral problems at wave 2 during Covid-19.

Conclusions and Implications:

This research pointed out the significant decrease in behavioral problems among Chinese adolescents after the pandemic outbreak, indicating the importance of exploreing its protective factors. It concluded that PYD attributes could mediate the relationships between family functioning and behavioral problems. This research enriched the theratical framework on the role of family functioning and PYD attributes in adolescent behavioral problems. The findings also suggest that strengthening PYD attributes would protect adolescents from engaging in various behavioral problems during the pandemic.