The Impact Of Child Neglect On Friendship Quality:a Comparison Of The Firstborn And Only Children

In the context of the full liberalization of the fertility policy,the family structure in China is also gradually changing.Since the liberalization of the fertility policy,there have been calls to focus on the mental health of firstborns,and the practical need to focus on firstborns has opened up new areas for theoretical and applied research.Researchers have found that first-born children are more sensitive to negative parenting behaviors through comparative studies of the psychological resilience of first-born and only children in multi-child families(Morgan et al.,2020).In order to respond to the practical need to focus on firstborns,This study explores the developmental differences in the psychological mechanisms of firstborns and only children in the face of negative parenting,helping to solve the current problems of firstborns’ education,and providing the appropriate education measures for different groups of children.This study will examine whether the impact of child neglect,a poor parenting practice,on friendship quality is moderated by the identity of first-born children in only-child versus multichild families.Study 1 of this study explores the causal relationship between child neglect and friendship quality in a group of only-child and first-born children through a nearly sixmonth follow-up study in an urban elementary school in Chengdu.In Study 2,based on Study 1,questionnaires were administered to senior students in two other schools in urban Chengdu to investigate whether the chain mediation model of self-esteem,emotional intelligence in child neglect and friendship quality was valid in the group of only children and the group of first-born children,and to compare whether there were differences in the model between these two groups.Through the two studies mentioned above,we found the following results.(1)Through longitudinal equivalence tests,the present study demonstrated that the morphological equivalence,load equivalence,scale equivalence,and error equivalence models of the Child Neglect Scale and the Friendship Quality Scale were acceptable at different time points.Through the cross-group equivalence test,this study demonstrated that the morphological equivalence,load equivalence,scale equivalence,and error equivalence models of the Child Neglect Scale,the Friendship Quality Scale,the Emotional Intelligence Scale,and the Friendship Quality Scale were acceptable for the only child group and the first-born child group.(2)The results of the test of variance showed differences in child neglect,selfesteem,emotional intelligence,and friendship quality on the demographic variables of being an only child,gender,and parental education level.(3)Cross-lagged results showed that child neglect negatively predicted friendship quality both in only and firstborn children,while the path from friendship quality to child neglect was not significant,indicating that child neglect was responsible for the change in friendship quality.(4)The results of the chain mediation model showed that the mediating effect of self-esteem in child neglect and friendship quality was not significant in the only child group.The mediating effect of emotional intelligence in child neglect and friendship quality was significant,the chain mediating effect of self-esteem and emotional intelligence in child neglect and friendship quality was significant and the mediating effect of self-esteem in child neglect and friendship quality was not significant in the group of first-born children.The mediating effect of emotional intelligence in child neglect and friendship quality was not significant.The chain mediating effect of selfesteem and emotional intelligence on child neglect and friendship quality was significant.In summary,the following conclusions can be drawn from this study.(1)The Child Neglect Scale and the Friendship Quality Scale possess measurement equivalence across time.The Child Neglect Scale,the Friendship Quality Scale,the Emotional Intelligence Scale,and the Self-Esteem Scale met cross-group equivalence in the only child group and the firstborn child group.(2)First-born children faced significantly higher neglect than only children.In the only child group,girls had significantly higher emotional intelligence than boys.In the group of first-born children,children’s emotional intelligence and self-esteem levels vary by parental educational level.(3)Child neglect negatively predicted friendship quality in both the only child group and the firstborn child group,and child neglect was responsible for the change in friendship quality.(4)In the only-child group,child neglect can directly and negatively affect friendship quality.Emotional intelligence mediates between child neglect and friendship quality,and self-esteem,and emotional intelligence mediates in a chain between child neglect and friendship quality.Child neglect negatively affects friendship quality in a group of first-born children.Self-esteem,emotional intelligence mediated the chain effect between child neglect and friendship quality,but the mediating effect of emotional intelligence between child neglect and friendship quality was not significant.Overall,the chain mediation model differed between the only child and firstborn groups.