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 (Mage = 14.71, SD = 1.64) from a rural area of Taiqian 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 left-behind 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.