The role of collective integration and parental involvement on adolescent anxiety-A multilevel analysis

Adolescent anxiety should receive more attention than it currently does since it might have long-term impacts that develop across the entire lifespan. We aim to clarify how school-, class- and individual-level factors affect adolescent anxiety and to try to identify the key mediators and moderators that help alleviate adolescent anxiety.

We used data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), which is a longitudinal survey. A total of 7582 students aged 14-15 years (in 257 classes within 98 schools) were followed across two survey waves. Since the data are structured hierarchically, we utilized multilevel modeling with HLM 7.0 and Monte Carlo resampling with R to confirm the significance of the mediation effects. Then, we drew interaction diagrams to explain the effects of the moderator.

A higher share of interprovincial migrant students in the school, greater respect for teachers in the classroom, and greater self-confidence in one's personal appearance all reduce adolescent anxiety. Collective integration, as a key mediator, explains how the school-/individual-level factor affects adolescent anxiety. Parental involvement moderates the relationship between collective integration and adolescent anxiety.

Most of the variables were self-reported by the students. The findings of this study should be applied with caution to cross-cultural contexts.

We advocate for a multipronged approach, particularly an approach that uses different strategies at school, class, and individual levels, to help students develop the skills needed to enhance their social inclusion and sense of personal belonging.