Psychological intervention

Context (archaeology)

World Wide Web

Addiction

Biology

Statistics

Social psychology

Association (psychology)

Social support

The Internet

Psychiatry

Developmental psychology

Computer science

Structural equation modeling

Paleontology

Psychological distress

Psychology

Mathematics

Political science

Psychotherapist

Left behind

Mental health

Distress

Clinical psychology

Social environment

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Family functionality has been proven to be associated with adolescents' and children's mental health, but its indirect mechanisms among left-behind children have rarely been investigated in the Chinese context. This study aims to explore the direct effect of family functionality on psychological distress and the mediating roles of social support and Internet addiction among Chinese left-behind children. Based on multistage random sampling, 1355 students were recruited to participate in a school-based questionnaire survey in Jiangsu Province. Structural equation modeling using Amos 26.0 was used to test the direct and indirect paths of the variables. The results support our hypotheses, suggesting that family functionality has a direct effect on the psychological distress of left-behind children. Meanwhile, the association between family functionality and psychological distress is mediated by social support and Internet addiction, separately and sequentially. The findings suggest that effective social work interventions for psychological distress should be targeted toward social support and Internet addiction among left-behind children.

Unpacking the Association between Family Functionality and Psychological Distress among Chinese Left-Behind Children: The Mediating Role of Social Support and Internet Addiction