The effect of perceived parental conflict on middle school students' social anxiety: The role of self‐compassion and shame

• Published in: Psychology in the schools Vol. 61; no. 12; pp. 4653 - 4671
• Main Authors: Huang, Siyuan, Huang, Xishan, Luo, Ruonan, Suzuki, Ikue, Zou, Lin, Chen, Miao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-12-2024
• Subjects: Compassion; Health education; Mental health; Middle school students; Middle schools; Parental conflict; Parents & parenting; perceived parental conflict; Secondary schools; Self compassion; Shame; Social anxiety; social society; Students; Sympathy
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.23301

This study explores the relationship between perceived parental conflict, self‐compassion, shame, and social anxiety and its internal mechanisms through two studies. Study 1 took 612 middle school students (285 women, 327 men, M = 14.18 years, SD = 1.72) as participants, and the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale, Self‐compassion scale (SCS), shame scale (SS), and Social Anxiety Scale were used for testing. The results showed that perceived parental conflict was significantly correlated with self‐compassion, shame, and social anxiety. Perceived parental conflict affects middle school students' social anxiety through feelings of self‐compassion and shame. In study 2, 106 middle school students (76 women, 30 men, M = 15.47 years, SD = 0.62) were randomly assigned to the self‐compassion group and control group, and students were asked to complete different literacy tasks, and then fill out the SCS, SS and adolescent social anxiety scale in turn. The results found that in the context of parental conflict, inducing the self‐compassion of middle school students can reduce the level of shame and social anxiety. The introduction of the concept of self‐compassion into the field of middle school students' mental health reveals the function of self‐compassion. It expands the relevant research on the intermediary role of self‐compassion, and also provides innovative ideas for the future research of mental health education in primary and secondary schools.
Practitioner points
There were associations between perceived parental conflict, self‐compassion, shame, and social anxiety.
Self‐compassion and shame act as sequential mediators between perceived parental conflict and social anxiety among middle school students.
In the context of parental conflict, inducing self‐compassion among middle school students can reduce their shame and social anxiety levels.