Mediating roles of perceived social support and sense of security in the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction among left-behind children: A cross-sectional study
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Objective: Life satisfaction is closely related to the quality of life. Previous studies showed that left-behind children have low life satisfaction levels due to their separation from their parents. Therefore, it is significant to explore the risk factors and protective factors of left-behind children’s life satisfaction to improve their life quality. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the mediating roles of perceived social support and sense of security in the relationship between negative life events and life satisfaction among left-behind children. Methods: A survey was conducted on 281 left-behind children in rural Shandong, China using negative life events, perceived social support, a sense of security, and life satisfaction scales. Results: Negative life events had a negative impact on life satisfaction (β = −0.34, p = 0.001). In addition, not only does social support mediate between negative life events and life satisfaction (β = −0.21, p = 0.001), but also in between, security (β = −0.05, p = 0.030). Moreover, social support and security act as a chain intermediary between negative life events and life satisfaction (β = −0.03, p = 0.010), with an indirect effect share of 4.76%. Conclusion: Negative life events could directly or indirectly affect the life satisfaction of left-behind children through the chain-mediating effects of perceived social support or the sense of security alone. Perceived social support and the sense of security are two important targets for further improving the life satisfaction of LBC.
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Perceived social support reassures people that they are not alone in dealing with challenges and that help is available if required, offering a sense of security and comfort.
“Perceived social support reassures people that they are not alone in dealing with challenges and that help is available if required. This perception offers a sense of security and comfort.74”
From A Longitudinal Study of Loneliness Before the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Trajectories, Predictors, and Impact on Chinese Adolescent Mental Health (2024) · cites this paper as [74]
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Wang, J., Zhang, W., Song, P., Wang, T., Yao, Y., Chen, Y., Lin, H., Yang, X., Chen, X., & Fu, C. (2024) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s484113 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“74 Even if someone does not frequently use the support available, just believing that it is there when needed can reduce feelings of loneliness.”
- Authors
- Liu, N., Li, X., Ding, X., Liu, H., & Zhang, X.
- Affiliations
- Binzhou Medical University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, Xiaoli
- ORCID
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2023-01-13
- Volume
- 13
- Pages
- 1100677-1100677
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9880476
- OpenAlex
- W4316040407
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 5.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Binzhou Medical University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Health and Well-being Studies
- Keywords
- left-behind children, life satisfaction, negative life events, perceived social support, sense of security, serial mediation, parental separation, rural children, quality of life
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