Parental emotional neglect and left-behind children's externalizing problem behaviors: The mediating role of deviant peer affiliation and the moderating role of beliefs about adversity

Left-behind children face many threats to their survival, which leads to their externalizing problem behaviors. Previous studies showed that parental emotional neglect has a profound influence on left-behind children's externalizing problem behaviors, but the mediating and moderating mechanisms that underlie this influence are unclear. The current study investigated the effects of parental emotional neglect on left-behind children's externalizing problem behaviors, the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation, and the moderating role of beliefs about adversity in the association between parental emotional neglect and left-behind children's externalizing problem behaviors. A sample of 1063 children (M-age = 14.71, SD = 1.64) from a rural area of TaiMan County anonymously completed the Emotional Neglect Scale, the Deviant Peer Affiliation Scale, the Beliefs about Adversity Scale, the Externalizing Problem Behaviors Scale and a demographic information questionnaire. After controlled for demographic variables, parental emotional neglect significantly and positively predicted leftbehind children's externalizing problem behaviors. The mediation analysis showed that the positive association between parental emotional neglect and left-behind children's externalizing problem behaviors was mediated by deviant peer affiliation. Moreover, the moderation analysis indicated that beliefs about adversity moderated the association between parental emotional neglect and left-behind children's externalizing problem behaviors, which supports the stress-buffering model. The current study provides an understanding of how parental emotional neglect influences left-behind children's externalizing problem behaviors. This research also provides a timely and necessary study of the prevention and intervention of these behaviors.