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Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence 6/2024

08-03-2024 | Empirical Research

Does Grit Compensate for Family Background Disadvantage in Predicting Mental Health Difficulties? A Longitudinal Study of Chinese Migrant and Urban Children

Auteurs: Xinmei Gong, Chen Chen, Xin Tong

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence | Uitgave 6/2024

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Abstract

The significant population of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children has sparked considerable domestic and international concern regarding their disadvantaged family circumstances and their escalating prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems. Derived from the resource substitution hypothesis, non-cognitive factors such as personality traits may act as “substitution” resources for educational outcomes of children from less privileged families. Yet, the compensatory role of personality traits as substitution resources in children’s mental health has received limited attention, including that of migrant children. This study examined the interplay of trait-like grit and family SES on emotional and conduct problems among Chinese migrant and urban children. The current sample consisted of 770 migrant children (Mage = 10.45 and SDage = 0.68 years; 38.4% girls) and their 222 urban counterparts (Mage = 10.34 and SDage = 0.46 years; 45.5% girls). Moderated polynomial regressions with response surface analysis on a two-wave data with an interval of over six months showed that grit served as a “substitution” resource for the less socioeconomically advantaged children. The compensatory effect of perseverance of effort on urban children’s emotional problems and that of consistency of interest on migrant children’s conduct problems were visualized. Moreover, the two compensatory effects were found to be robust and unique, even after children’s effortful control, a grit-related construct, was taken into account. These findings not only support the resource substitution hypothesis, but also underscore the protective role that grit plays in children under less privileged environments.
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Metagegevens
Titel
Does Grit Compensate for Family Background Disadvantage in Predicting Mental Health Difficulties? A Longitudinal Study of Chinese Migrant and Urban Children
Auteurs
Xinmei Gong
Chen Chen
Xin Tong
Publicatiedatum
08-03-2024
Uitgeverij
Springer US
Gepubliceerd in
Journal of Youth and Adolescence / Uitgave 6/2024
Print ISSN: 0047-2891
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-6601
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01953-4

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