Psychological well-being and distress in adolescents: An investigation into associations with poverty, peer victimization, and self-esteem

Poverty is negatively linked to adolescents' mental health. However, little is known about the underlying process that mediates this relationship. This study aims to examine the association among poverty, peer victimization, self-esteem, and mental health of adolescents. Data are collected through a multistage cluster random sampling in Hebei, China (N = 1280; mean age = 15.68; 47.4% male). Structural equation modeling is adopted to examine the hypothetical model using AMOS 24.0. Results reveal that the mechanisms linking poverty to adolescent mental health differ in terms of victimization types (overt or relational). Relational victimization and self-esteem partially mediate the relationship between poverty and psychological well-being and fully mediate the relationship between poverty and psychological distress after gender, age, hukou status, and family socioeconomic status are controlled. However, the mediating effect of overt victimization is not significant. The overall model accounts for 27% and 24.8% of the variance in psychological well-being and distress, respectively. This study contributes to an improved understanding of the mediating mechanisms underlying poverty and mental health. The implications of the present findings for social work interventions and social policies are also discussed.