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Parent-child attachment and teacher-student relationships in Chinese children from low-income families: A moderated mediation model of shyness and resilience

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Abstract

This study examined the mediating role of shyness (i.e., as a risk factor) and the moderating role of resilience (i.e., as a protective factor) between parental-child attachment and teacher-student relationships in Chinese children living in poverty. A total of 235 children was screened from 898 children as a sample of impoverished children by family economic status. Participants completed parent-child attachment, teacher-student relationships, shyness, and resilience measures. Results suggested that shyness partially mediated parent-child attachment and teacher-student relationships. Parent-child attachment was negatively related to shyness, which negatively related to teacher-student relationships. Moreover, resilience moderated the association between shyness and teacher-student relationships, with more substantial effects in the low-resilience group than the high-resilience group. Accordingly, parental attachment may play an important role in influencing teacher-student relationships for impoverished children. Increasing resilience in children in poverty may help buffer the adverse effects of shyness on teacher-student relationships.

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  1. Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Shuo Wang & Junyang Su

  2. Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Room 1512, Houzhu Building, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian, Beijing, 100875, China

    Angyang Li

  3. Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Huntington Hall, 430, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Elina Ruiqi Sun

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  1. Shuo Wang
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Wang, S., Li, A., Su, J. et al. Parent-child attachment and teacher-student relationships in Chinese children from low-income families: A moderated mediation model of shyness and resilience. Curr Psychol 42, 20463–20473 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03121-y

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