The Relation Between Academic Achievement And Internalizing And Externalizing Problems Among Junior High School Students: The Moderating Role Of Interpersonal Relationship Subcategories

Internalizing and externalizing problems are common emotional and behavioral psychosocial problems in adolescents.Research has revealed that poor academic and interpersonal adjustment in school and family,such as low academic achievement,low peer status,lack of friends,poor parent-child relationships,can increase the risk of internalizing and externalizing problems.In order to understand the mechanism of these problems,researchers should consider the interactions between individuals and their environment,as depicted by the ecological systems theory and the developmental context theory.It has been found that low academic achievement is an significant individual risk factor,and its influence on developmental outcomes can be moderated by and peer relationship,parent-child relationship,and their interaction.In view of this,this study took a longitudinal design with a one-year interval,and measured parent-child relationship（cohesion and conflict with father and mother,respectively）and peer relationship（peer status and number of reciprocal friends）of the participant junior high school students.Taking the 4 parent-child relationship variable and the 2 peer relationships variables as indicators,this study used a person-oriented approach,the latent profile analysis（LPA）to explore subcategories of the“parent-child relationship-peer relationship”among junior high students.Further,the influence of academic achievement on the development of internalizing and externalizing problems,and the moderating effect of interpersonal relationship subcategories were evaluated.Specifically,this study focused on the following research questions:（1）What are the subcategories of“parent-child relationship-peer relationship”among adolescents in the Chinese cultural context?（2）What are the differences in characteristics of various interpersonal relationship subcategories with respect to internalizing and externalizing problems among junior high school students?（3）How does academic achievement in the previous year influence the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in the subsequent year,and how do different interpersonal relationship subcategories affect this?In this study,1667 students(M_age=13.20±0.35 years,861 male)and their teachers from12 junior middle schools in Jinan,Shandong Province were recruited as subjects,and were tracked to the third grade of junior middle school.Self-report method was used to measure the participants’academic achievement,internalizing problems and parent-child relationships;peer nomination method was used to measure their social preferences and number of friends;the teacher report method was used to measure adolescents’externalizing problems.All questionnaires in this study had good reliability and validity.LPA and multilevel regression were used to analyze the data.The main findings of this study are as follows:（1）Three subcategories of adolescents’interpersonal relationship were found:the“negative peer–moderate parent”group,the“negative parent–moderate peer”group and“positive parent–positive peer”group.（2）Adolescents in the groups of“negative peer–moderate parent”and“negative parent–moderate peer”displayed elevated levels of internalizing and externalizing problems.Adolescents in the“negative parent–moderate peer”group showed significantly higher levels of internalizing problems compared to the“negative peer–moderate parent”group,with the latter showing significantly higher levels than the“positive parent–positive peer”.Regarding externalizing problems,both the“negative parent–moderate peer”and“negative peer–moderate parent”groups are characterized with significantly higher levels than the“positive parent–positive peer”group,but there were no significant differences between the first two groups.（3）Adolescents belonging to different subcategories showed differentiated patterns in the relation between academic achievement and subsequent externalizing problems.Specifically,those who belong to the“positive parent–positive peer”group are better able to resist the negative impact of poor academic achievement on aggression and discipline problems,compared to those in the“negative peer–moderate parent”group.This suggests that having positive relationships with peers can help mitigate the negative effects of low academic achievement on aggression and discipline problems.This study revealed potential subcategories of“parent relationships–peer relationships”in adolescents from the person–oriented perspective,provided new insights into adolescents’interpersonal relationships in the Chinese cultural context.The study revealed that both negative parent–child relationships and negative peer relationships can have a negative impact on the mental health of young people.Therefore,it is important to provide timely intervention and support for mental health education in schools and families for adolescents who experience interpersonal problems.Additionally,teachers should be aware of the negative impact of negative parent–child relationships on students who exhibit internalizing problems.For students who struggle with academic achievement,it is especially important to guide them in establishing positive peer relationships to reduce the risk of problematic behavior.