Parental Psychological Control and Adolescents’ Boredom: The Mediating Roles of Core Self-Evaluation and Achievement Motivation and the Moderating Role of Teacher Autonomy Support

Abstract

Boredom is a common negative emotional state among adolescents. Based on Ecological Systems Theory and Transitions Theory, this study investigates the relationship between and mechanisms of parental psychological control and adolescents’ boredom at the beginning of senior high school, and further explores whether teacher autonomy support moderates this relationship after one semester of teacher-student interaction. A two-wave survey was conducted over 3 months with 1,163 first-year Chinese senior high school students, who completed self-reported measures of parental psychological control, boredom, achievement motivation, core self-evaluation, and teacher autonomy support. Results showed that parental psychological control may predict boredom at both time points. This association was mediated by a chain involving core self-evaluation and achievement motivation. After one semester, teacher autonomy support moderated the relationship between core self-evaluation and boredom. Findings suggest that individual, family, and school factors are meaningfully linked to adolescent boredom and provide theoretical guidance for future intervention strategies.