Parent-child Attachment And Relational Aggression In Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Mode

Relational aggression has received a great deal of attention from national and international researchers in recent years.Relational aggression is a form of aggression in which the attacker manipulates interpersonal relationships through coldness,ostracism and spreading rumours,so that the friendship,self-esteem or social status of others is harmed.It is more indirect and covert than physical aggression,but has a negative impact on the psychological and social adjustment of young people.Numerous studies have shown that,similar to physical aggression,relational aggression is clearly associated with behavioural problems,emotional problems and other social adjustment problems in adolescents.In this study,677 high school students from a secondary school in Guangzhou were selected as subjects using questionnaires(Parent-Child Attachment Scale(simplified version),Relational Aggression Scale,Emotional Intelligence Scale and School Bonding Scale)to explore the mechanisms of parent-child attachment on relational aggression among high school students.moderating role in the model.Findings from the study were as follows:(1)Parent-child attachment can significantly influence emotional intelligence and significantly and negatively predict relational aggression.(2)Emotional intelligence significantly mediates the relationship between parent-child attachment and relational aggression in high school students.(3)School connectedness moderates the first half of the mediating pathway and the direct pathway through which parent-child attachment influences relational aggression in high school students through emotional intelligence.Thus,parent-child attachment,emotional intelligence,relational aggression,and school connectedness together constitute a mediated model with moderation.Based on these findings,this study explores how parent-child attachment,emotional intelligence and school connectedness influence relational aggression and suggests effective recommendations to draw the attention of practitioners in order to reduce the production of relational aggression,bring about more harmonious interpersonal relationships among high school students and help high school students grow up healthily.