Family Rituals and Self-esteem of Adolescents: A Chain Mediating Model of Parent-Child Attachment and Meaning in Life
Wu Mingzheng1,2, Chen Yiran1, Yan Mengyao1, Lin Ming1, Sun Xiaoling3
1.Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China 2.Jinhua Institute of Zhejiang University, Jinhua 321099, China 3.Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Abstract：Puberty is a critical period for adolescents’ self-esteem, as it plays an irreplaceable role in the course of forming future patterns of psychological well-being and social adaption in adulthood. Self-esteem in adolescence is the result of interactions between self-experience and social-role changes that accompany puberty, shaped by family-related determinants and parent-child relations that affect the uptake of self-esteem. As a traditional culture of China, various classical texts and daily ritual activities have been taken to help developing self-esteem during family rituals. It’s a tradition to value family rituals as indoctrinations for teenagers’ socialization, and various classical texts and daily ritual activities are manifestation. However, without reliable measure tools in this field, the role of family rituals in promoting adolescents’ self-esteem and the underlying mechanisms are rarely addressed. Thus, the role of family rituals in promoting adolescents’ self-esteem and the underlying mechanisms have long posed a conundrum. In view of this, the study aims at exploring whether family ritual has significant impacts on the development of self-esteem in adolescence, and how it works.There are two possible mechanisms. Firstly, family rituals promote parent-child attachment, which in return enhances adolescents’ self-esteem. During family rituals, parents and adolescents engage in adequate and positive interpersonal interactions that promote parent-child attachment. Secondly, family rituals promote the development of self-esteem by facilitating adolescents’ meaning in life, while the symbolic meanings embedded in family rituals can help adolescents develop and experience meaning in life. According to the terror management theory, self-esteem consists of a sense of meaning and significance.To investigate the positive effect and possible mechanism, 544 high school students in Hangzhou were invited to participate in this study. Family Ritual Questionnaire (Chinese version, FRQ-CV), Parent-Child Attachment Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and Self-esteem Scale were used. Meanwhile, their gender, age, residence, and family socioeconomic status were also collected. The study used SPSS 24.0 to perform correlational analysis, RWA-Web to perform relative weight analysis, and PROCESS plug-in for intermediary structure modelling analysis and bootstrap path effect analysis. The main findings were as follows: family rituals had a significant predictive effect on self-esteem, while both parent-child attachment and meaning in life mediated the effect. Moreover, family rituals promoted self-esteem through a chain mechanism of parent-child attachment and meaning in life. In addition, this study also used the relative weight analysis to explore the relationship between different types of family rituals and adolescents’ self-esteem, suggesting that participation in and interaction during family traditional activities and celebrations, and symbolic meaning perception of family interaction patterns were particularly vital for cultivating adolescents’ self-esteem.The current findings suggest that family rituals promote adolescents’ parent-child attachment and meaning in life, thereby enhancing their self-esteem. The results support and expand previous research on the direct and indirect effects of family rituals in family and individual positive outcomes. Overall, this study can help family ritual researchers construct a theoretical model of family rituals in terms of the symbolic meaning in family rituals. In practical terms, this study also reminds parents that family rituals are important ways of parent-child interaction within the family and play a special and irreplaceable role in adolescents’ psychosocial development. It is necessary to give family interaction patterns, such as family dinner and weekend mundane, a specific symbolic significance, while strengthening interactions during family traditional events and festivals to improve adolescents’ self-esteem.
吴明证, 陈一冉, 严梦瑶, 林铭, 孙晓玲. 家庭仪式与青少年的自尊：亲子依恋和生命意义感的链式中介作用[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2022, 52(10): 69-83.
Wu Mingzheng, Chen Yiran, Yan Mengyao, Lin Ming, Sun Xiaoling. Family Rituals and Self-esteem of Adolescents: A Chain Mediating Model of Parent-Child Attachment and Meaning in Life. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2022, 52(10): 69-83.
1 王娟、邹泓、侯珂等： 《青少年家庭功能对其主观幸福感的影响：同伴依恋和亲社会行为的序列中介效应》，《心理科学》2016年第6期，第1406-1412页。 2 温红博、梁凯丽、刘先伟： 《家庭环境对中学生阅读能力的影响：阅读投入、阅读兴趣的中介作用》，《心理学报》2016年第3期，第248-257页。 3 杨铖、刘建平： 《家庭氛围对农村留守儿童心理健康的影响：“养”“育”割裂？》，《心理学探新》2017年第4期，第364-368页。 4 Crespo C.， Daviede I. N. & Costa M. E. et al.， “Family rituals in married couples： links with attachment， relationship quality， and closeness，” Personal Relationships， Vol. 15， No. 2 （2008）， pp. 191-203. 5 Hobson N. M.， Schroeder J. & Risen J. L. et al.， “The psychology of rituals： an integrative review and process-based framework，” Personality and Social Psychology Review， Vol. 22， No. 3 （2018）， pp. 260-284. 6 Wolin S. J. & Bennett L. A.， “Family rituals，” Family Process， Vol. 23， No. 3 （1984）， pp. 401-420. 7 Fiese B. H.， Tomcho T. J. & Douglas M. et al.， “A review of 50 years of research on naturally occurring family routines and rituals： cause for celebration？” Journal of Family Psychology， Vol. 16， No. 4 （2002）， pp. 381-390. 8 Fiese B. H.， Foley K. P. & Spagnola M.， “Routine and ritual elements in family mealtimes： contexts for child well-being and family identity，” New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development， Vol. 111（2006）， pp. 67-89. 9 Fiese B. H.， “Routines and rituals： opportunities for participation in family health，” OTJR： Occupation， Participation and Health， Vol. 27， No. 1 （2007）， pp. 41-49. 10 Malaquias S.， Crespo C. & Francisco R.， “How do adolescents benefit from family rituals？ links to social connectedness， depression and anxiety，” Journal of Child and Family Studies， Vol. 24， No. 10 （2015）， pp. 3009-3017. 11 Santos S.， Crespo C. & Canavarro M. C. et al.， “Family rituals and quality of life in children with cancer and their parents： the role of family cohesion and hope，” Journal of Pediatric Psychology， Vol. 40， No. 7 （2015）， pp. 664-671. 12 Santos S.， Crespo C. & Canavarro M. C. et al.， “Family rituals when children have cancer： a qualitative study，” Journal of Family Psychology， Vol. 32， No. 5 （2018）， pp. 643-653. 13 Santos S.， Crespo C. & Silva N. et al.， “Quality of life and adjustment in youths with asthma： the contributions of family rituals and the family environment，” Family Process， Vol. 51， No. 4 （2012）， pp. 557-569. 14 Crespo C.， Kielpikowski M. & Pryor J. et al.， “Family rituals in New Zealand families： links to family cohesion and adolescents’ well-being，” Journal of Family Psychology， Vol. 25， No. 2 （2011）， pp. 184-193. 15 吴明证、李阳、王洁等： 《家庭仪式与大学生幸福感的关系：社会联结与自我控制的链式中介作用》，《心理科学》2021年第6期，第1346-1353页。 16 Tajfel H.， Differentiation Between Social Groups， London： Academic Press， 1978. 17 Pyszczynski T.， Greenberg J. & Solomon S. et al.， “Why do people need self-esteem？ a theoretical and empirical review，” Psychological Bulletin， Vol. 130， No. 3 （2004）， pp. 435-468. 18 Baumeister R. F. & Vohs K. D.， “Revisiting our reappraisal of the （surprisingly few） benefits of high self-esteem，” Perspectives on Psychological Science， Vol. 13， No. 2 （2018）， pp. 137-140. 19 Dinger U.， Ehrenthal J. C. & Nikendei C. et al.， “Change in self-esteem predicts depressive symptoms at follow-up after intensive multimodal psychotherapy for major depression，” Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy， Vol. 24， No. 5 （2017）， pp. 1040-1046. 20 Schubert N. & Bowker A.， “Examining the impostor phenomenon in relation to self-esteem level and self-esteem instability，” Current Psychology， Vol. 38， No. 3 （2019）， pp. 749-755. 21 Sevelko K.， Bischof G. & Bischof A. et al.， “The role of self-esteem in Internet addiction within the context of comorbid mental disorders： findings from a general population-based sample，” Journal of Behavioral Addictions， Vol. 7， No. 4 （2018）， pp. 976-984. 22 潘颖秋： 《初中青少年自尊发展趋势及影响因素的追踪分析》，《心理学报》2015年第6期，第787-796页。 23 Frayon S.， Swami V. & Wattelez G. et al.， “Associations between weight status， body satisfaction， ethnic identity and self-esteem in Oceanian adolescents，” https：//doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12824， 2022-06-20. 24 Meissner W. W.， “Notes on Identification，” The Psychoanalytic Quarterly， Vol. 41， No. 2 （1972）， pp. 224-260. 25 Bowlby J.， “Disruption of affectional bonds and its effects on behavior，” Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy， Vol. 2， No. 2 （1970）， pp. 75-86. 26 Agerup T.， Lydersen S. & Wallander J. et al.， “Associations between parental attachment and course of depression between adolescence and young adulthood，” Child Psychiatry Human Development， Vol. 46， No. 4 （2015）， pp. 632-642. 27 Bowlby J.， “Attachment and loss： retrospect and prospect，” The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry， Vol. 52， No. 4 （1982）， pp. 664-678. 28 Jakobsen I. S.， Horwood L. J. & Fergusson D. M.， “Childhood anxiety/withdrawal， adolescent parent-child attachment and later risk of depression and anxiety disorder，” Journal of Child & Family Studies， Vol. 21， No. 2 （2012）， pp. 303-310. 29 Lecompte V.， Moss E. & Cyr C. et al.， “Preschool attachment， self-esteem and the development of preadolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms，” Attachment and Human Development， Vol. 16， No. 3 （2014）， pp. 242-260. 30 Leary M. R.， “Making sense of self-esteem，” Current Directions in Psychological Science， Vol. 8， No. 1 （1999）， pp. 32-35. 31 Ooi Y. P.， Ang R. P. & Fung D. S. S. et al.， “The impact of parent-child attachment on aggression， social stress and self-esteem，” School Psychology International， Vol. 27， No. 5 （2006）， pp. 552-566. 32 Steger M. F.， Frazier P. & Oishi S. et al.， “The meaning in life questionnaire： assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life，” Journal of Counseling Psychology， Vol. 53， No. 1 （2006）， pp. 80-93. 33 O’Donnell M. B.， Bentele C. N. & Grossman H. B. et al.， “You， me， and meaning： an integrative review of connections between relationships and meaning in life，” Journal of Psychology in Africa， Vol. 24， No. 1 （2014）， pp. 44-50. 34 King L. A. & Hicks J. A.， “The science of meaning in life，” Annual Review of Psychology， Vol. 72 （2021）， pp. 561-584. 35 Burrow A. L. & Hill P. L.， “Purpose as a form of identity capital for positive youth adjustment，” Developmental Psychology， Vol. 47， No. 4 （2011）， pp. 1196-1206. 36 曹瑞琳、梅松丽、梁磊磊等： 《感恩与大学生网络成瘾的关系：核心自我评价和生命意义感的中介作用》，《心理发展与教育》2023年第2期，https：//doi.org/10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2023.02.15，2022年9月30日。 37 张平、王培、张迪等： 《大学新生自我概念清晰性和生命意义感对自杀意念的影响》，《中国心理卫生杂志》2022年第11期，第975-980页。 38 King G. A.， “The meaning of life experiences： application of a meta-model to rehabilitation sciences and services，” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry， Vol. 74， No. 1 （2004）， pp. 72-88. 39 赖雪芬、鲍振宙、王艳辉： 《生命意义与青少年抑郁的关系：自尊的中介作用》，《心理研究》2016年第2期，第28-34页。 40 Ryan R. M. & Deci E. L.， “Avoiding death or engaging life as accounts of meaning and culture： comment on Pyszczynski et al. （2004），” Psychological Bulletin， Vol. 130， No. 3 （2004）， pp. 473-477. 41 Frankl V. E.， “Logotherapy and existential analysis—a review，” American Journal of Psychotherapy， Vol. 20， No. 2 （1966）， pp. 252-260. 42 Cooke J. E.， Kochendorfer L. B. & Stuart-Parrigon K. L. et al.， “Parent-child attachment and children’s experience and regulation of emotion： a meta-analytic review，” Emotion， Vol. 19， No. 6 （2019）， pp. 1103-1126. 43 Obeldobel C. A. & Kerns K. A.， “Attachment security is associated with the experience of specific positive emotions in middle childhood，” Attachment & Human Development， Vol. 22， No. 5 （2020）， pp. 555-567. 44 Erikson E. H.， “The problem of ego identity，” Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association， Vol. 4， No. 1 （1956）， pp. 56-121. 45 Marcia J. E.， “Ego identity status： relationship to change in self-esteem， ‘general maladjustment’ and authoritarianism，” Journal of Personality， Vol. 35， No. 1 （1967）， pp. 118-133. 46 Fiese B. H. & Kline C. A.， “Development of the family ritual questionnaire： initial reliability and validation studies，” Journal of Family Psychology， Vol. 6， No. 3 （1993）， pp. 290-299. 47 李董平、许路、鲍振宙等： 《家庭经济压力与青少年抑郁：歧视知觉和亲子依恋的作用》，《心理发展与教育》2015年第3期，第342-349页。 48 刘思斯、甘怡群： 《生命意义感量表中文版在大学生群体中的信效度》，《中国心理卫生杂志》2010年第6期，第478-482页。 49 Rosenberg M.， Society and the Adolescent Self-image， Princeton： Princeton University Press， 1965. 50 汪向东、王希林、马弘编： 《心理卫生评定量表手册（增订版）》，北京：中国心理卫生杂志社，1999年。 51 闫艳、谢笑春、盖笑松等： 《中国大中学生的罗森伯格自尊量表测评结果》，《中国心理卫生杂志》2022年第10期，第863-867页。 52 Haller A. O. & Portes A.， “Status attainment processes，” Sociology of Education， Vol. 46， No. 1 （1973）， pp. 51-91. 53 罗海风、刘坚、周达： 《家长参与在家庭社会经济地位和高中生学习品质之间的中介作用——师生关系的调节作用》，《心理发展与教育》2021年第2期，第199-210页。 54 王志航、赵纤、黎志华： 《家庭社会经济地位对青少年希望的影响：一个有调节的中介模型》，《中国健康心理学杂志》2021年第8期，第1257-1262页。 55 Tonidandel S. & LeBreton J. M.， “RWA web： a free， comprehensive， web-based， and user-friendly tool for relative weight analyses，” Journal of Business and Psychology， Vol. 30 （2014）， pp. 207-216. 56 Johnson J. W.， “A heuristic method for estimating the relative weight of predictor variables in multiple regression，” Multivariate Behavioral Research， Vol. 35 （2000）， pp. 1-19. 57 Hayes A. F.， Introduction to Mediation， Moderation， and Conditional Process Analysis： A Regression-Based Approach， New York： Guilford Press， 2013. 58 周浩、龙立荣： 《共同方法偏差的统计检验与控制方法》，《心理科学进展》2004年第6期，第942-950页。 59 田玮宜、徐健捷、吕广林等： 《父母自尊与青少年主观幸福感间的关系：亲子信任与青少年自尊的链式中介作用》，《心理发展与教育》2022年第3期，第331-338页。 60 Watson-Jones R. E. & Legare C. H.， “The social functions of group rituals，” Current Directions in Psychological Science， Vol. 25， No. 1 （2016）， pp. 42-46. 61 Legare C. H. & Souza A. L.， “Evaluating ritual efficacy： evidence from the supernatural，” Cognition， Vol. 124， No. 1 （2012）， pp. 1-15. 62 Robins R. W.， Tracy J. L. & Trzesniewski K. et al.， “Personality correlates of self-esteem，” Journal of Research in Personality， Vol. 35， No. 4 （2001）， pp. 463-482. 63 吴明证： 《内隐自尊》，上海：上海交通大学出版社，2016年。 64 柳之啸、吴任钢： 《自尊对生命意义感的预测机制——心理控制源和积极情绪的中介作用》，《北京大学学报（自然科学版）》2018年第6期，第1339-1345页。 65 Lin C. C.， “Gratitude and suicidal ideation in undergraduates in Taiwan： the mediating role of self-esteem and meaning in life，” OMEGA：Journal of Death and Dying， Vol. 84， No. 1 （2021）， pp. 177-193. 66 魏高峡、满晓霞、盖力锟等： 《人类共情领域认知神经科学：研究展望与应用启示》，《中国科学：生命科学》2021年第6期，第702-716页。 67 吴明证、沈斌、孙晓玲： 《组织承诺和亲组织的非伦理行为关系：道德认同的调节作用》，《心理科学》2016年第2期，第392-398页。
2022, Vol. 52 
