Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied

Publication Date

4-8-2021

Volume

155

Issue

4

First Page

387

Last Page

405

Keywords

acculturative stress, Chinese internal migrant children, loneliness, resilience, self esteem, social support

DOI

10.1080/00223980.2021.1891854

ISSN

00223980

Abstract

The present study examined the risk and protective factors of loneliness among Chinese internal migrant children (CIMC) in Beijing, China, including self-esteem, resilience, social support, and acculturative stress. Longitudinal survey data were collected from a large sample of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade CIMC from three schools in Beijing, at four time points (N=862 at T1 to N=837 at T4) over a 20-month period. Grounded in the Cultural and Contextual Model of Coping and the Acculturation Theory, two predictor models of loneliness were tested with path analysis. The results yielded the following: a) the two predictor models fit the data well; b) CIMC’s T1 self-esteem and T1 resilience protected them against loneliness at T4; and c) CIMC’s T2 social support seeking was a significant mediator between self-esteem and loneliness, and between resilience and loneliness; and d) similarly, CIMC’s T3 acculturative stress was a significant mediator between self-esteem and loneliness, and between resilience and loneliness. The study’s results highlight the merit and importance of implementing theoretically-guided, model-testing research grounded in a prospective research design, to help advance CIMC research. Implications for future research on and practical support for CIMC are discussed.

E-ISSN

19401019

PubMed ID

33830873

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