Abstract
The current study aimed to explore the relative role of psychological needs satisfaction and perceived teacher support between mother-child attachment and resilience among impoverished children. Participants consist of 284 Chinese middle school students (49.25% males; Mage = 14.13 years, SD = 1.57) from low-income families who completed a comprehensive questionnaire from the aspects of mother-child attachment, resilience, psychological needs satisfaction and perceived teacher support. Structural equation modeling showed that psychological needs satisfaction partly mediated the relationship between mother-child attachment and resilience. Specifically, mother-child attachment was positively associated with psychological needs satisfaction, which in turn positively associated with resilience. Moreover, perceived teacher support moderated the relationship between psychological needs satisfaction and resilience. The correlation between psychological needs satisfaction and resilience was more robust in children who perceived higher teacher support than those who perceived lower teacher support. The findings suggested that interventions focusing on satisfying the psychological needs of mother-child attachment and enhancing teacher support may promote the resilience of impoverished children.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armsden, G. C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16(5), 427–451. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02202939.
Armstrong, M. I., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., & Ungar, M. T. (2005). Pathways between social support, family well being, quality of parenting, and child resilience: What we know. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 14(2), 269–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-005-5054-4.
Bender, A., & Ingram, R. (2018). Connecting attachment style to resilience: Contributions of self-care and self-efficacy. Personality and Individual Differences, 130, 18–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.03.038.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation, anxiety and anger. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss, sadness, and depression. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Clinical applications of attachment theory. London: Routledge.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1989). Ecological systems theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Annals of child development (Vol. 6, pp. 187–249). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Caldwell, C. H., Wright, J. C., Zimmerman, M. A., Walsemann, K. M., Williams, D., & Isichei, P. A. (2004). Enhancing adolescent health behaviors through strengthening non-resident father-son relationships: A model for intervention with African-American families. Health Education Research, 19(6), 644–656. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyg078.
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor- Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.10113.
Danielsen, A. G., Wiium, N., Wilhelmsen, B. U., & Wold, B. (2010). Perceived support provided by teachers and classmates and students' self-reported academic initiative. Journal of School Psychology, 48(3), 247–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2010.02.002.
Darling Rasmussen, P., Storebø, O. J., Løkkeholt, T., Voss, L. G., Shmueli-Goetz, Y., Bojesen, A. B., Simonsen, E., & Bilenberg, N. (2019). Attachment as a core feature of resilience: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Reports, 122(4), 1259–1296. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118785577.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19(2), 109–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(85)90023-6.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Self-determination theory. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (pp. 416–436). Sage Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446249215.n21.
Deci, E. L., Eghrari, H., Patrick, B. C., & Leone, D. R. (1994). Facilitating internalization: The self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Personality, 62(1), 119–142. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00797.x.
Deng, L. Y., Fang, X. Y., & Yan, J. (2013). The relationship between interparental relationship, parent-child relationship and adolescents' internet addiction. Chinese Journal of Special Education, 09, 71–77.
Elias, M. J., & Haynes, N. M. (2008). Social competence, social support, and academic achievement in minority, low-income, urban elementary school children. School Psychology Quarterly, 23(4), 474–495. https://doi.org/10.1037/1045-3830.23.4.474.
Engle, P. L., Fernald, L. C., Alderman, H., Behrman, J., O'Gara, C., Yousafzai, A., de Mello, M. C., Hidrobo, M., Ulkuer, N., Ertem, I., & Iltus, S. (2011). Strategies for reducing inequalities and improving developmental outcomes for young children in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet, 378(9799), 1339–1353. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60889-1.
Feeney, B. C., & Collins, N. L. (2015). A new look at social support: A theoretical perspective on thriving through relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(2), 113–147. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868314544222.
Fenning, R. M., & Baker, J. K. (2012). Mother-child interaction and resilience in children with early developmental risk. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(3), 411–420. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028287.
Fergus, S., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2005). Adolescent resilience: A framework for understanding healthy development in the face of risk. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 399–419. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144357.
Fletcher, D., & Sarkar, M. (2013). Psychological resilience: A review and critique of definitions, concepts, and theory. European Psychologist, 18(1), 12–23. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000124.
Gagne, M. (2003). Autonomy support and need satisfaction in the motivation and well-being of gymnasts. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 15(4), 372–390.
Garmezy, N. (1993). Children in poverty: Resilience despite risk. Psychiatry, 56(1), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1993.11024627.
Graham, A., Powell, M., Taylor, N., Anderson, D., & Fitzgerald, R. (2013). Ethical research involving children. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti.
Guan, J., & Sun, Q. (2018). The effect of parent-child relationship on poverty children's problem behavior. Journal of Psychological Science, 41(05), 1145–1150.
Guo, X. (2019). Coping as a mediator between parental attachment and resilience: An examination of differential effects between Chinese children from single parent families versus those from intact families. Psychological Reports, 122(2), 506–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118765418.
Harman, H. H. (1967). Modern factor analysis. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Harman, H. H. (1976). Modern factor analysis (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Publications.
Hui, E. K., & Sun, R. C. (2010). Chinese children's perceived school satisfaction: The role of contextual and intrapersonal factors. Educational Psychology, 30(2), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410903494452.
Juang, L. P., Simpson, J. A., Lee, R. M., Rothman, A. J., Titzmann, P. F., Schachner, M. K., Korn, L., Heinemeier, D., & Betsch, C. (2018). Using attachment and relational perspectives to understand adaptation and resilience among immigrant and refugee youth. American Psychologist, 73(6), 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000286.
Kerns, K. A., Abraham, M. M., Schlegelmilch, A., & Morgan, T. A. (2007). Mother-child attachment in later middle childhood: Assessment approaches and associations with mood and emotion regulation. Attachment & Human Development, 9(1), 33–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730601151441.
Klem, A. M., & Connell, J. P. (2004). Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and achievement. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 262–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb08283.x.
Koball, H., & Jiang, Y. (2018). Basic facts about low-income children: Children under 9 years, 2016. New York, NY: National Center for Children in Poverty.
La Guardia, J. G., Ryan, R. M., Couchman, C. E., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Within-person variation in security of attachment: A self-determination theory perspective on attachment, need fulfillment, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(3), 367–384. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.3.367.
Laible, D. J. (2004). Mother-child discourse in two contexts: Links with child temperament, attachment security, and socioemotional competence. Developmental Psychology, 40(6), 979–992. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.6.979.
Lerner, J. V., Bowers, E., & Geldhof, G. J. (2015). Positive youth development: A relational developmental systems model. In Overton W. F. & Molenaar P. C. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Theory and method (7th ed., Vol. 1). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.
Liu, L., Gou, Z., & Zuo, J. (2016). Social support mediates loneliness and depression in elderly people. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(5), 750-758. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105314536941.
Liu, Y., Li, X., Chen, L., & Qu, Z. (2015). Perceived positive teacher-student relationship as a protective factor for Chinese left-behind children's emotional and behavioural adjustment. International Journal of Psychology, 50(5), 354–362. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12112.
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. E. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00164.
Masten, A. S. (2018). Resilience theory and research on children and families: Past, present, and promise. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10(1), 12–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12255.
Miklikowska, M., Thijs, J., & Hjerm, M. (2019). The impact of perceived teacher support on anti-immigrant attitudes from early to late adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(6), 1175–1189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-00990-8.
Neufeld, A., & Malin, G. (2019). Exploring the relationship between medical student basic psychological need satisfaction, resilience, and well-being: A quantitative study. BMC Medical Education, 19(1), 405. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1847-9.
Powell, B., Cooper, G., Hoffman, K., & Marvin, B. (2013). The circle of security intervention: Enhancing attachment in early parent-child relationships. New York, NY: Guilford Publications.
Ryan, R. M. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality, 63, 397–427. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1995.tb00501.x.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.68.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Sattler, K., & Gershoff, E. (2019). Thresholds of resilience and within-and cross-domain academic achievement among children in poverty. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 46, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.04.003.
Shang, S. J., Bai, B. Y., & Zhong, N. (2016). Family social class and meaning in life: Mediating of basic psychological need satisfaction. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24(06), 1108–1111.
Sheldon, K. M., Elliot, A. J., Kim, Y., & Kasser, T. (2001). What is satisfying about satisfying events? Testing 10 candidate psychological needs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(2), 325–339. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.2.325.
Shibue, Y., & Kasai, M. (2014). Relations between attachment, resilience, and earned security in Japanese University students. Psychological Reports, 115(1), 279–295. https://doi.org/10.2466/21.02.PR0.115c14z7.
Sun, H. (2015). The Relationship between Parenting and Anxiety in Adolescents: Multiple Effects of Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs and Resilience (master thesis). Shandong Normal University.
Tian, L., Liu, B., Huang, S., & Huebner, E. S. (2013). Perceived social support and school well-being among Chinese early and middle adolescents: The mediational role of self-esteem. Social Indicators Research, 113(3), 991–1008. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0123-8.
Tucker, C. M., Zayco, R. A., Herman, K. C., Reinke, W. M., Trujillo, M., Carraway, K., Wallack, C., & Ivery, P. D. (2002). Teacher and child variables as predictors of academic engagement among low-income African American children. Psychology in the Schools, 39(4), 477–488. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10038.
Véronneau, M. H., Koestner, R. F., & Abela, J. R. (2005). Intrinsic need satisfaction and well–being in children and adolescents: An application of the self–determination theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(2), 280–292. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.24.2.280.62277.
Wang, M., & Eccles, J. S. (2012). Social support matters: Longitudinal effects of social support on three dimensions of school engagement from middle to high school. Child Development, 83(3), 877–895. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01745.x.
Wold, S., Esbensen, K., & Geladi, P. (1987). Principal component analysis. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 2(1–3), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/cem.1180010107.
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2.
Zolkoski, S. M., & Bullock, L. M. (2012). Resilience in children and youth: A review. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(12), 2295–2303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.08.009.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Priority Projects of Beijing Municipal Education Commission Grant CFEA19061.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, S., Li, A., Cai, M. et al. Mother-child attachment and resilience in Chinese impoverished children: a moderated mediation model of psychological needs satisfaction and perceived teacher support. Curr Psychol 41, 5020–5029 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01017-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01017-3