Self-concept clarity and subjective social status as mediators between psychological suzhi and social anxiety in Chinese adolescents

Effects of family socioeconomic status on the self-expectations of children under grandparenting in China

Introduction

The increasing expansion of grandparenting necessitates further study of the effects of grandparenting on child development. This study investigated the relationship between family socioeconomic status (SES) and children's self-expectations in households involving grandparenting, using data from the "China Family Panel Studies" (CFPS). The CFPS is a national, large-scale, multidisciplinary social tracking survey conducted by the Institute of Social Science Survey (ISSS) at Peking University.

Methods

The analysis drew on data from 4,946 children aged 6-16 and their families, collected from CFPS2016 to CFPS2018. To determine whether grandparenting was involved, responses from the Children's parents' questionnaire were used. Any caregiving arrangement involving grandparents-whether during the day, at night, or both-was classified as grandparenting. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between family SES and children's self-expectations.

Results

The findings revealed a significant negative correlation between family SES and children's self-expectations, including its various dimensions, in both groups of families. Additionally, family SES was found to negatively predict children's self-expectations. A potential explanation for this result is that children from low-income families may have a stronger desire to improve their environmental and social circumstances, fostering greater internal motivation and higher self-expectations. In comparison to families without grandparenting, those with grandparenting had significantly lower family SES, children's self-expectations, parent-child communication, and parental marital status, with more students studying in non-elite schools. Parent-child communication and residential areas for children can positively predict children's self-expectations in both groups of families.

Discussion

These findings highlight the significance of family SES and the influence of multiple factors for raising the self-expectations of children under grandparenting. Thus, to improve the quality of life for children under grandparent care and promote their physical and mental health requires a multi-level approach involving the state, society, and individuals within the family.

Research on the relationship between social support and academic self-efficacy among college students: a multivariate empirical analysis

Background

The critical role of social support in college students' academic development cannot be ignored. This study aims to analyze the interrelationships and potential mechanisms between social support, sense of security, family cultural capital and academic self-efficacy.

Methods

A multivariate moderated mediation model was constructed by surveying 1,119 college students using the Social Support Scale, the Sense of Security Scale, the Academic Self-efficacy Scale, and the Family Cultural Capital Scale.

Results

(1) social support significantly increases sense of security; (2) sense of security significantly enhances academic self-efficacy; (3) social support directly contributes to academic self-efficacy; and (4) sense of security partially mediates the relationship between social support and academic self-efficacy; (5) family cultural capital plays a moderating role in the effects of social support on academic self-efficacy, especially in the first half of the direct and indirect effects.

Conclusion

These findings could provide an important theoretical basis and practical guidance for further understanding and enhancing academic self-efficacy among college students.

The Reciprocal Relations between Parental Psychological Control and Social Anxiety and the Mediating Role of Self-Concept Clarity Among Chinese Early Adolescents

Although parental psychological control has been well-documented as a significant predictor of social anxiety among adolescents, few studies examine how changes in parental psychological control and adolescent social anxiety are reciprocally related at the within-person level, especially in Chinese culture. This longitudinal study examined reciprocal relations between parental psychological control and social anxiety, and the potential mediating role of self-concept clarity, by disentangling between- and within-person effects. A total of 4731 students (44.9% girls; Mage = 10.91 years, SD = 0.72) participated in a four-wave longitudinal study with 6-month intervals. Results from random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling indicated that parental psychological control directly predicted social anxiety, and vice versa. Parental psychological control indirectly predicted social anxiety via self-concept clarity, and social anxiety also indirectly predicted parental psychological control via self-concept clarity. These findings reveal a vicious cycle of mutual influence between parental psychological control and adolescent social anxiety in Chinese youth, and highlight the crucial role of self-concept clarity in the interplay between parenting and adolescent social functioning.

Who I am and who I want to be: The positive effect of self-concept clarity on purpose, life satisfaction, and personal meaning among Chinese and Indonesian emerging adults

BACKGROUND

The importance of self-concept clarity to oneself has been shown in prior studies among Western communities. However, few studies have investigated self-concept clarity and its outcomes cross-culturally in the Asian context. Therefore, we assessed self-concept clarity in relation to purpose in life, life satisfaction, and personal meaning among Chinese and Indonesian samples.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

The survey participants were 248 Indonesian undergraduates and 311 Chinese, aged 18-25 years, recruited through convenience sampling. An online survey was distributed to universities in Hong Kong and in Indonesia in which all participants gave written informed consent. Reliability and confirmatory factor analyses of each scale were performed in each sample. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the invariance of the analysis of the data.

RESULTS

The findings of the study demonstrate a consistent and significant positive impact of self-concept clarity on purpose in life, which subsequently predicts life satisfaction and personal meaning in both groups. Interestingly, only in the Chinese sample did self-concept clarity exhibit a direct positive correlation with personal meaning. Meanwhile, in the Indonesian sample, there was no significant effect of self-concept clarity on meaningfulness. In other words, the Indonesian sample emphasizes the need to shape goals after achieving self-concept clarity to make a meaningful life.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the importance of fostering self-concept clarity among students in both countries to shape their goals and aims for better well-being.

The influence of stress on mental health among Chinese college students: The moderating role of psychological suzhi

Depending on its duration, stress can be divided into chronic and acute stress, both of which can be detrimental to an individual's mental health. Psychological suzhi may act as a protective factor that buffers the adverse effects of stress. This study aimed to explore the moderating role of psychological suzhi in the relationship between these two types of stress and mental health based on a dual-factor model of mental health. Study 1 explored the moderating role of psychological suzhi on the relationship between chronic stress and mental health using the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List, College Student Psychological Suzhi Scale Brief Mental Health Version, Satisfaction With Life Scale, and 12-item General Health Questionnaire to investigate 919 Chinese college students. A hierarchical regression model was used to examine the moderating effects. Study 2 examined the moderating role of psychological suzhi on the relationship between acute stress and mental health. Participants (N = 56) were classified into high (N = 30) and low (N = 26) psychological suzhi groups based on the Psychological Suzhi Scale. They completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups and a specific control condition, and their state anxiety and happiness levels were assessed. Data were analyzed using a mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVA. The results of Study 1 revealed that psychological suzhi moderated the influence of chronic stress on the negative indicator of mental health (psychological symptoms) (β = -0.18, t = -6.90, p < 0.001). The results of Study 2 showed that psychological suzhi moderated the effect of acute stress on the negative indicator of mental health (state anxiety) [F (1, 54) = 4.79, p < 0.05, η2 = 0.08]. Psychological suzhi can moderate the influence of both chronic and acute stress on the negative indicators of college students' mental health but cannot moderate the influence on the positive indicators of mental health.

Does migrant workers' subjective social status affect their mental health? Job satisfaction as a longitudinal mediator

BACKGROUND

Prior studies on migrant workers have explored the effect of their subjective social status and job satisfaction on their mental health, respectively or combined, as well as how their subjective social status affects their job satisfaction. Nonetheless, few have accounted straightforwardly and holistically for the mechanism of interaction between subjective social status, job satisfaction and mental health amongst migrant workers.

AIMS

Taking migrant workers in China as the object of study, we intended to probe the longitudinal links between their subjective social status, job satisfaction and mental health, in particular, their job satisfaction as a longitudinal mediator therein.

METHOD

Using the three-wave data from the 2014, 2016 and 2018 China Labour-force Dynamics Survey, we defined migrant workers as labourers aged 15 to 64 with agricultural hukou and engaged in non-agricultural work in urban areas. The final valid sample comprised 2,035 individuals. Latent growth models (LGMs) were applied to test the hypothesised relationships.

RESULTS

The LGMs based on bootstrapping showed that amongst migrant workers the subjective social status, job satisfaction and mental health tended overall to grow linearly and that the job satisfaction longitudinally mediated between the subjective social status and mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings may enlighten policymaking to elevate migrant workers mentally and inform future studies on theoretical and practical fronts.

Mediation of self-concept clarity and self-control between negative emotional states and emotional eating in Chinese adolescents

Recent studies have consistently lent support for the significant relationship between negative emotional states (e.g., anxiety, stress, and depression) and emotional eating; however, only a handful of studies focused on examining the potential mediator in this association. The present study aimed to contribute to the literature surrounding the link between negative emotional states and emotional eating and to examine the mediating role of self-concept clarity and self-control in this association among a sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1347, 62.44% girls). Results indicated that adolescents perceived higher levels of negative emotional states were linked to higher emotional eating. Additionally, the structural equation model suggested that symptoms of stress and depression could be associated with emotional eating through self-control. Moreover, the serial mediation effect of self-concept clarity and self-control could account for the association of negative emotional states (e.g., symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression) and emotional eating. Overall, this study advances our understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which negative emotional states predict emotional eating in adolescence. If future studies reveal converging findings, this knowledge points to the need for programs preventing the development of emotional eating in adolescence through increasing the level of self-control and self-concept clarity.

Self-concept Clarity and Subjective Well-Being: Disentangling Within- and Between-Person Associations

Previous research has suggested that, among adolescents, clarity about one's self-concept is closely related to subjective well-being. However, longitudinal studies are scarce, and whether a clear self-concept is the cause or effect of subjective well-being remains unclear. This study examined the dynamic longitudinal associations between self-concept clarity and subjective well-being at the between- and within-person levels over a one-year time span among adolescents (baseline Mage = 16.01 years; 57.0% girls) from China. The data were collected in three waves (each at a six-month interval), in which adolescents reported their self-concept clarity and well-being (i.e., positive and negative affect and personal satisfaction with life). Both Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPMs) and Cross-Lagged Panel Models (CLPMs) were applied to examine the stability, cross-sectional relationships, and cross-lagged effects between adolescents' self-concept clarity and subjective well-being over time. The CLPMs provided unique support for a reciprocal relations model of self-concept clarity and subjective well-being (including both cognitive and emotional well-being) across three time points, although the results of traditional CLPM might represent an unknown blend of between- and within-person effects. However, the RI-CLPM analyses provided tentative support only for cross-sectional correlations between self-concept clarity and well-being outcomes. Our findings advance the literature by elucidating longitudinal relationships between self-concept clarity and subjective well-being in collectivist cultural contexts using CLPM and RI-CLPM.

Effect of Teacher Support on Adolescents' Positive Academic Emotion in China: Mediating Role of Psychological Suzhi and General Self-Efficacy

Positive academic emotions can promote good academic performance and development in students. Therefore, how teachers stimulate students to produce more positive academic emotions is particularly important. This study aimed to reveal the underlying mechanism of teacher support and adolescents' positive academic emotions. A total of 854 students from western China participated in this survey, which included the Students' Perception of the Teacher's Behavioural Support Questionnaire, the Psychological Suzhi Questionnaire for Middle School Students, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (396 boys; 12 to 20 years old, Mage = 15.3, SD = 2.04). Results showed that (1) teacher support, psychological suzhi, and general self-efficacy were positively correlated with students' positive academic emotion; (2) psychological suzhi and general self-efficacy played a separate mediating role between teacher support and adolescents' positive academic emotion; and (3) teacher support also influenced adolescents' positive academic emotion through the serial mediation of psychological suzhi and general self-efficacy.

Longitudinal links between expressive flexibility and friendship quality in adolescence: The moderating effect of social anxiety

INTRODUCTION

Expressive flexibility, or the ability to both up- and down-regulate emotional expressions in social interactions, is thought as an indicator and a consequence of healthy interpersonal relationships. The present longitudinal study examined bidirectional associations between expressive flexibility and friendship quality in early adolescence. Since prior research found inconsistent results regarding the adaptiveness of expressive flexibility, which indicated the necessity to consider individual variability in the process, we further tested the potential moderating effect of social anxiety in the links from expressive flexibility to friendship quality.

METHODS

Participants from two junior high schools in eastern China (N = 274; 50.4% female; M_age  = 13.56) were surveyed at three time points with 6-month intervals. Expressive flexibility, friendship quality, and social anxiety were all assessed via self-reported scales.

RESULTS

According to the cross-lagged model results, friendship quality significantly predicted increased expressive flexibility over time. Conversely, the longitudinal association from expressive flexibility to friendship quality was not significant, but the interaction between expressive flexibility and social anxiety significantly predicted later friendship quality. Further analyses via the Johnson-Neyman technique revealed that expressive flexibility only positively predicted friendship quality for adolescents with lower levels of social anxiety.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that expressive flexibility is not always socially adaptive, so practical interventions that aim to improve youths' social adjustment via expressive flexibility training might need to consider the role of individual characteristics.

Gender Differences between Cyberbullying Victimization and Meaning in Life: Roles of Fatalism and Self-Concept Clarity

Despite widely linking cyberbullying victimization (CV) to some poorer mental health outcomes, CV also negatively impacts the internal strengths that make life worth living, such as meaning in life, which has received less attention. This study thus aimed to examine the relationship between CV and presence of meaning in life as well as the mediating roles of fatalism and self-concept clarity in this relationship. Gender differences in the mediation model were also examined. A sample of 766 Chinese junior school students (M = 13.11 years, SD = 1.19 years) completed questionnaires regarding CV, presence of meaning, self-concept clarity, and fatalism. The results revealed that CV was significantly and positively correlated with presence of meaning. Structural equation modeling indicated that self-concept clarity and fatalism completely mediated the link between CV and presence of meaning in parallel and sequential manners. The multigroup analysis further showed that CV was positively related to fatalism only among girls and had a stronger negative association with self-concept clarity for girls compared with boys. Thus, the indirect link between CV and presence of meaning was stronger for girls (versus boys). Findings suggested that CV was associated with poor self-concept clarity, stronger fatalism, and low levels of presence of meaning in life among adolescents, especially for girls. Increasing self-concept clarity and decreasing fatalistic beliefs are thus necessary to help cyberbullying victims to develop meaning in life.

Psychological suzhi moderates state anxiety and heart rate responses to acute stress in male adolescents

Psychological suzhi has increasingly been recognized to buffer chronic stress and improve mental health. However, few studies have examined the role of psychological suzhi in the response to acute stress. The current study aimed to investigate whether psychological suzhi can buffer state anxiety and heart rate responses to acute stress in adolescents. Healthy male adolescents (N = 63) were classified into high (N = 30) or low (N = 33) psychological suzhi groups based on the Chinese norm of adolescent psychological suzhi scale-simplified version. They completed both the modified Trier Social Stress Test for Groups and a specific control condition, with heart rate and state anxiety assessed. Data were analysed with mixed-design repeated measures analysis of variance. The results showed that the modified Trier Social Stress Test for Groups condition effectively induced an increase in state anxiety and heart rate. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of psychological suzhi showed lower state anxiety and heart rate stress responses. The present study indicated that psychological suzhi is an important internal resource against acute stress, which may inform interventions for male adolescents exposed to acute stress.

Family socioeconomic status, subjective social status, and achievement motivation among Chinese college freshmen: A latent growth modeling approach

This study’s objective was to examine direct and indirect relationships among family socioeconomic status, subjective social status, and achievement motivation within the first 3 months after college freshmen enrollment in China. A longitudinal dataset was collected over a 3-month period at four measurement points with 4-week intervals. A cluster sample of 1,983 college freshmen from the eastern, central, and western economic regions of China was surveyed. Latent growth modeling was conducted. The results indicated that achievement motivation decreased over time and was positively related to a decline in subjective social status. Mediation analyses demonstrated that, after controlling for sex and economic region, family socioeconomic status predicted the initial level of achievement motivation directly and indirectly through the initial level of subjective social status, and notably, the directions of these effects were opposite. Further, family socioeconomic status also significantly predicted the rate of change in achievement motivation indirectly through the initial level of subjective social status. These results highlight the longitudinal relationship between family socioeconomic status and achievement motivation via different pathways and have implications for improving college freshmen’s achievement motivation.

Family Income and Student Educational and Cognitive Outcomes in China: Exploring the Material and Psychosocial Mechanisms

Leveraging data from a nationally representative school-based adolescent survey, the current study aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of how family income is associated with multiple cognitive and educational outcomes in China and examine the underlying material and psychosocial mechanisms. We found robust associations of family income with school grades, cognitive ability, and study attitude, but not with homework engagement. Moreover, we found that home amenities, i.e., measuring home-based material resources, played the largest mediating role in explaining family income effects on cognitive ability and study attitude. Among the non-monetary or intangible intervening factors, children’s own and peers’ educational aspirations along with mother-child communication were the most important mechanisms. To a lesser extent, family income effects were also attributable to harmonious parent-child and between-parent relationships. The key take-home message is that home environments constitute a prominent setting outside of school exerting powerful influences shaping school outcomes for Chinese adolescents. Our study contributes to a better understanding of how family economic resources are transmitted to children’s cognitive and educational advantages via home material resources, family non-monetary features, children’s agency, and peer influence. Policy implications and future research are discussed.

The Effects of Family Functioning and Psychological Suzhi Between School Climate and Problem Behaviors

Problem behaviors have always been a hot topic in the field of adolescent research. It is particularly important to study how problem behaviors are developed. Empirical evidence examining problem behaviors has shared the premise that perceived school climate and family functioning play a role in the development of problem behaviors in adolescents. However, it is less clear whether the interaction of perceived school climate and family functioning can predict problem behaviors in adolescents and which mechanisms within the process it might affect. The present study developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the relationship between perceived school climate, family functioning, psychological suzhi, and problem behaviors in early adolescents. Participants were 1,072 Chinese junior high school students who completed the Perceived School Climate Questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Psychological Suzhi Questionnaire for Middle School Students, and the Family APGAR scales. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0, including descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The mediating effect and moderating effect were tested by SPSS PROCESS. Results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between perceived school climate and problem behaviors and a partial mediating role of psychological suzhi between perceived school climate and problem behaviors. Moreover, the influence of perceived school climate on psychological suzhi was moderated by family functioning. Indirect effects were significant in participants with high versus low family functioning. There was an interaction between family and school, and psychological suzhi played an important role between environment and adolescent behaviors. This study validates the combined effect of family systems, school systems, and personal systems on problem behaviors and has certain guiding significance for the prevention and intervention of problem behaviors among adolescents.

Subjective family socio-economic status, school social capital, and positive youth development among young adolescents in China: A multiple mediation model

Previous research has demonstrated that subjective socio-economic status (SES) and school social capital are associated with a wide range of socio-emotional outcomes for children. Less is known about whether subjective SES is linked to overall child development and whether school social capital is a mediator in developing countries. The current study aimed to examine the association between subjective SES and positive youth development (PYD) among young adolescents in China, explore whether student-teacher relationships and student-student relationships mediated this association, and test whether there were gender differences in these associations. The analytical sample included a total of 1011 seventh-graders (mean age = 13.24, SD = .69; 53.70% boys) recruited from Beijing and Anhui Provinces. The results showed that subjective SES was positively and significantly associated with PYD and that student-teacher relationships and student-student relationships played independent and joint mediating roles in the link between the two constructs. In addition, girls benefited more than boys from having closer relationships with teachers. Our findings highlight the importance of promoting school social capital in reducing PYD disparities across subjective SES levels, and suggest that school should be an effective venue for interventions to promote PYD among young adolescents in China.

Mediating effect of psychological suzhi on the relationship between parental emotional warmth and personal belief in a just world

The current study examined how parental emotional warmth and psychological suzhi predicted students' personal belief in a just world and the mediating role of psychological suzhi. The participants were 1306 middle school students (48.2% male, 11- to 20-years-old) from three regions in China. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that psychological suzhi partially mediated the relationship between parental emotional warmth and students' personal belief in a just world after controlling for covariates; parental emotional warmth was not only directly associated with students' personal belief in a just world but also was indirectly associated with students' personal belief in a just world through psychological suzhi. This examination of psychological suzhi's association with personal belief in a just world extends the understanding of the causes of personal belief in a just world and informs new interventions targeting personal belief in a just world. Future research, clinical implications, and the limitations of the present study are also discussed.

Mediating effect of psychological suzhi on the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem

This study examined the mediating role of psychological suzhi on the relationship between perceived social support and self-esteem in a sample of 612 Chinese secondary school students (grades 7-12, mean age 15.20 ± 1.73 years). Structural equation modeling revealed that the association between perceived social support and self-esteem was partially mediated by psychological suzhi, and perceived social support not only directly affected students' self-esteem but also indirectly affected students' self-esteem through psychological suzhi. Moreover, the mediating effect of psychological suzhi showed transgender and cross school section stability. These findings can help us understand how perceived social support affects self-esteem, from the perspective of psychological suzhi.

The relationship between psychological Suzhi and social anxiety among Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of self-esteem and sense of security

BACKGROUND

High incidence and morbidity rates are found among adolescents with social anxiety disorder, a severe and harmful form of social phobia. Extensive research has been conducted to uncover the underlying psychological factors associated with the development and continuation of this disorder. Previous research has focused on single individual difference variables such as personality, cognition, or emotion; thus, the effect of an individual's full psychological profile on social anxiety has rarely been studied. Psychological suzhi is a comprehensive psychological quality that has been promoted in Chinese quality-oriented education. This research aimed to explore how psychological suzhi affects Chinese adolescents' social anxiety.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey study was carried out among 1459 middle school students (683 boys and 776 girls) from various middle schools in seven provinces of China. Psychological suzhi, self-esteem, sense of security, and social anxiety were measured via four self-reported questionnaires: the Brief Psychological Suzhi Questionnaire for middle school students, the Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Security Questionnaire, and the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale.

RESULTS

Analyses showed that psychological suzhi is positively related to self-esteem and sense of security, and it is negatively correlated with social anxiety. The results also revealed that self-esteem partially mediates the relationship between adolescents' psychological suzhi and social anxiety, with self-esteem and sense of security serving as chain mediators in the relationship between psychological suzhi and social anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Results highlight that psychological suzhi is a protective factor against social anxiety. It can directly protect adolescents from social anxiety, and it also can protect them through affecting their self-esteem and sense of security. These results are discussed from the viewpoints of school leaders, psychology teachers, and school counsellors, who provide support to students to improve their social functioning within the school context. The findings of this study may provide new perspectives regarding the prevention and treatment of social anxiety.

Bullying and Social Anxiety in Chinese Children: Moderating Roles of Trait Resilience and Psychological Suzhi

Research examining the relationship between bullying victimization and social anxiety has mainly been conducted in Western countries, and little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. This study explores the correlation between bullying victimization and social anxiety in a Chinese context and determines the moderating roles of psychological suzhi (a mental quality characterized by being steady, essential and implicit that affects adaptive, developmental, and creative behavior) and trait resilience among victims of bullying. Data were obtained from a stratified sample of 1903 children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. All participants completed measures of bullying victimization, social anxiety, trait resilience, and psychological suzhi. The results indicated that, after controlling for grade, residential area, and parental marital status, bullying victimization positively predicted children's social anxiety. In addition, multi-group analysis suggested that the association in girls was stronger relative to that observed in boys. Regarding underlying processes, trait resilience moderated the effect of bullying victimization on social anxiety only in girls. Further assessment of the latent interaction effects indicated that the protective effect of trait resilience was stronger for girls experiencing high, relative to low, levels of bullying victimization, and psychological suzhi buffered against the detrimental effects of bullying on children's social anxiety. Most notably, unlike the moderating effect of resilience, the buffering effect of psychological suzhi against social anxiety was most prominent when bullying victimization was low. Findings underscore the importance of enhancing trait resilience and psychological suzhi in interventions designed to reduce children's social anxiety.

The Effect of Psychological Suzhi on Problem Behaviors in Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Subjective Social Status and Self-esteem

In this study, we examined subjective social status (SSS) and self-esteem as potential mediators between the association of psychological suzhi and problem behaviors in a sample of 1271 Chinese adolescents (44.5% male, grades 7–12). The results showed that SSS and self-esteem were fully mediating the relationship between psychological suzhi and problem behaviors. Moreover, the indirect effect was stronger via self-esteem than via SSS. These findings perhaps provide insight into the preliminary effect that SSS and self-esteem underlie psychological suzhi’s effect on adolescents’ problem behaviors, and also are important in helping school-teachers and administrators to develop a better understanding of problem behaviors in their schools as a pre-requisite to the development of more effective behaviors management practices from the perspective of psychological suzhi. Implications and limitations in the present study have also been discussed.