Xuesong Du, Li Chen, Yanna Huang, Libo Jin, Lianjing Lu
Maternal rejection was positively associated with gambling severity (B = 0.106, 95% CI [0.053, 0.160], p < 0.001), as was paternal rejection (B = 0.123, 95% CI [0.073, 0.174], p < 0.001). Resilience significantly moderated both associations (maternal rejection × resilience: B = -0.017, 95% CI [-0.028, -0.005], p = 0.005; paternal rejection × resilience: B = -0.016, 95% CI [-0.028, -0.003], p = 0.012). Simple slope analyses showed that the associations between parental rejection and gambling severity were significant at low (maternal: B = 0.176, p < 0.001; paternal: B = 0.189, p < 0.001) and average (maternal: B = 0.106, p < 0.001; paternal: B = 0.123, p < 0.001) levels of resilience but were not significant at high resilience (maternal: B = 0.037, p = 0.265; paternal: B = 0.058, p = 0.092). Exploratory correlation analyses additionally showed that parental emotional warmth was positively associated with resilience.
OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional survey study investigated the association between family cumulative risk and meaning in life among Chinese secondary vocational school students, examining the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of labor education support perception.
METHODS: A questionnaire survey comprising the Family Cumulative Risk Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and Labor Education Support Perception Scale (LESPS) was administered to 1536 secondary vocational school students from various grades.
RESULTS: Family cumulative risk was significantly and negatively associated with meaning in life (β = -0.34, p < 0.001), and the indirect association through self-esteem was significant. Labor education support perception, assessed using a newly developed scale with preliminary psychometric support, moderated the theoretically specified associations between family cumulative risk and self-esteem, and between self-esteem and meaning in life. Specifically, the negative association between family cumulative risk and self-esteem was stronger at higher levels of labor education support perception, consistent with the "drop in the bucket" model, although alternative explanations are also possible. The positive association between self-esteem and meaning in life was weaker at higher levels of labor education support perception, consistent with the "exclusion hypothesis."
CONCLUSION: Family cumulative risk was negatively associated with meaning in life, partially through lower self-esteem, and the strength of this indirect association varied as a function of labor education support perception. These findings identify a theoretically meaningful pattern of associations and highlight the importance of strengthening context-specific school-based support that helps secondary vocational school students develop self-esteem, construct positive vocational identities, and perceive their future work as meaningful.