The Relationship Between Parent-child Attachment And Depression Among High School Students: A Chain Mediation Mode

High school students are in adolescence,which is in the transition period of leaving the family and entering the society.It is also an critical stage for the development of self-consciousness.High school students are experiencing physical,psychological and social changes at the same time,as well as bearing the pressure from their studies,social expectations and interpersonal interaction,which makes high school students become a high-risk group of depression,in severe cases,depression symptoms may develop.Differentiation of self represents the degree to which individuals separate their emotions from the family,and it is an important standard to measure the maturation and mental health of high school students.In this critical period of life growth,it is necessary to focus on the establishment of parent-child attachment in families and the cultivation of high school students’ differentiation of self.How to improve the social and emotional ability of high school students and avoid them from falling into depression is an urgent problem to be solved.Based on family systems theory and attachment theory,this study investigated the role of differentiation of self and social avoidance between the relationship of parent-child attachment and high school students depression.Furtherly,the study compared the difference of specific mechanism between father-child attachment and mother-child attachment and high school students depression,in order to provide some theoretical reference for family education.This study took questionnaire survey method,the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachm,ent,Differentiation of Self Inventory and Social Avoidance Scale,Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were used to investigate 773 high school students in two high schools in Guangzhou city,Guangdong province.Analyzing the data by T-test,variance analysis,correlation analysis,regression analysis,structure equation model construction and other statistical methods.Finally,the study draw the conclusions as follows:1.Differentiation of self significantly mediates the relationship between parent-child attachment and high school students depression.2.Social avoidance significantly mediates the relationship between parent-child attachment and high school students depression.3.Differentiation of self significantly negatively predicts social avoidance.4.Differentiation of self and social avoidance play a chain mediating role between parent-child attachment and high school students depression.5.There are differences between the specific mechanisms of father-child attachment and mother-child attachment and high school students depression.Specifically,differentiation of self and social avoidance only play a complete mediating role in the relationship between father-child attachment and high school students depression,but don’t play any mediation role between mother-child attachment and high school students depression.This study expanded the understanding of the mechanism of depression formation in high school students,and the results provide important enlightenment for parents and the majority of educators.In the future family education,we should pay attention to the key role of fathers in promoting the growth of high school students.By building a harmonious parent-child relationship,we should improve the self-differentiation level of high school students,reduce social avoidance,so as to relieve depression.Secondly,to give play to the leading role of school education,school administrators and teachers should implement the national education policy,pay attention to the cultivation of positive psychological quality,strengthen the self-differentiation of high school students through psychological courses,group counseling and psychological counseling,and create activities to enhance the enthusiasm of high school students in social participation.Finally,as far as high school students themselves are concerned,they should fully mobilize their own subjective initiative,set up clear goals,look for and use appropriate emotional regulation methods to manage stress and negative emotions to maintain healthy emotions.