Abstract
Lack of parental care is one of the potential causes of bullying victimization of left-behind children (LBC) in China. In father-absent families, maternal involvement may be a protective factor against peer bullying, a topic that has been neglected in prior research. The current study examined the longitudinal influence of maternal involvement on father-absent LBC’s bullying victimization and the mediating roles of family functioning and children’s self-esteem. Three hundred and thirty-seven father-absent LBC in China participated in the current study at three-time points, and three hundred and eighty-six non left-behind children (NLBC) served as the comparison. The results indicated that: (1) a higher level of maternal involvement predicted less bullying victimization among father-absent LBC; (2) family functioning mediated the relationship between maternal involvement and father-absent LBC’s bullying victimization; (3) family functioning and self-esteem played a joint mediating role between maternal involvement and LBC’s bullying victimization; and (4) the mechanisms are different between father-absent LBC and NLBC. These findings highlight the essential role of the remaining parent in LBC’s bullying prevention.
Highlights
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Maternal involvement was closely associated with father-absent left-behind children(LBC)’s bullying victimization.
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Family functioning but not self-esteem mediated the relationship between maternal involvement and father-absent LBC’s bullying victimization.
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Family functioning and children’s self-esteem sequentially mediated the association between maternal involvement and father-absent LBC’s bullying victimization.
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The mechanism for maternal involvement affecting children’s bullying victimization among father-absent LBC was different from that among non left-behind children.
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Data availability
The dataset analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Social Science Planning Project in Zhejiang Province (23NDJC115YB). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors. We are appreciative of the parents, children, and teachers who participated in our study and the people who assisted in data collection.
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Wu, W., Xie, R., Ding, W. et al. Can maternal involvement protect children from bullying victimization when fathers migrate for work? A serial mediation model. J Child Fam Stud 32, 3148–3158 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02629-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02629-6