Using two waves of data, this study aimed to identify the peer relationship profiles of 1295 rural Chinese adolescents based on a person-centered approach and to examine the interactions among these profiles, left-behind status, and gender in predicting subsequent subjective well-being. Latent profile analyses identified four profiles: a socially competent profile, a socially accepted profile, an isolated profile, and a rejected profile. These profiles were linked to left-behind status (i.e. both-parent migration, father-only migration, mother-only migration, and non-parent migration) and gender. Moreover, left-behind status moderated the longitudinal relations between the peer relationship profiles and subjective well-being for boys and girls.
AndersenSMChenS (2002) The relational self: An interpersonal social-cognitive theory. Psychological Review109(4): 619–645.
2.
BradburnNM (1969) The structure of psychological well-being. Social Service Review44(3): 371–372.
3.
BukowskiWMHozaBBoivinM (1993) Popularity, friendship, and emotional adjustment during early adolescence. New Directions for Child Development60: 23–37.
4.
CaiHSunXNiuG, et al. (2016) Effects of parents-adolescents relations and friendship quality on subjective well-being: Indirect effect model and gender differences. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology24(3): 531–534 (in Chinese).
5.
ChenWZhangJ (2004) Factorial and construct validity of the Chinese positive and negative affect scale for student. Chinese Mental Health Journal18(11): 763–765 (in Chinese).
6.
ChenXLiB (2000) Depressed mood in Chinese children: Development significance for social and school adjustment. International Journal of Behavioral Development24(4): 472–479.
7.
ChengJSunYH (2015) Depression and anxiety among left-behind children in China: A systematic review. Child: Care, Health and Development41(4): 515–523.
8.
CiarrochiJMorinAJSSahdraBK, et al. (2017) A longitudinal person-centered perspective on youth social support: Relations with psychological wellbeing. Developmental Psychology53(6): 1154–1169.
9.
CrouterACMankeBAMcHaleSM (1995) The family context of gender intensification. Child Development66(2): 317–329.
10.
ElickerJEnglundMMSroufeLA (1992) Predicting peer competence and peer relationships in childhood from early parent-child relationships. In: ParkeRDLaddGW (eds) Family-Peer Relationships: Modes of Linkage, pp. 77–106. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
GabrielSGardnerWL (1999) Are there “his” and “hers” types of interdependence? The implications of gender differences in collective versus relational interdependence for affect, behavior, and cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology77(3): 642–655.
12.
HaoZZhangHNiuY (2017) The relationship between peer acceptance, friendship support, loneliness and internet addiction among secondary school students. Chinese Journal of Ergonomics23(6): 26–31 (in Chinese).
13.
HarrisJR (1995) Where is the child’s environment? A group socialization theory of development. Psychological Review102(3): 458–489.
14.
HouJZouHLiX (2009) The characteristics of the family environment and its influence on the life satisfaction of migrant children. Psychological Development and Education25(2): 78–85 (in Chinese).
15.
HuebnerES (1991) Initial development of the student’s life satisfaction scale. School Psychology International12(3): 231–240.
16.
KawabataYCrickNR (2015) Direct and interactive links between cross-ethnic friendships and peer rejection, internalizing symptoms, and academic engagement among ethnically diverse children. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology21(2): 191–200.
17.
LiQZhangWZhaoJ (2018) The longitudinal associations among grandparent-grandchild cohesion, cultural beliefs about adversity, and depression in Chinese rural left-behind children. Journal of Health Psychology26(1): 140–155.
18.
LaddGWTroop-GordonW (2003) The role of chronic peer difficulties in the development of children’s psychological adjustment problems. Child Development74(5): 1344–1367.
19.
LaiYLinW (2018) Relations among perceived social support, subjective well-being and academic procrastination of rural left-behind children. Journal of Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University34(5): 23–27 (in Chinese).
20.
LanXMoscardinoU (2019) Direct and interactive effects of perceived teacher-student relationship and grit on student wellbeing among stay-behind early adolescents in urban China. Learning and Individual Differences69: 129–137.
21.
LernerRM (1996) Relative plasticity, integration, temporality, and diversity in human development: A developmental contextual perspective about theory, process, and method. Developmental Psychology32(4): 781–786.
22.
LingHFuEZhangJ (2017) Peer relationships of left-behind children in China moderate their loneliness. Social Behavior and Personality45(6): 901–914.
23.
LuoXLiT (2015) The effect of a family’s social-economic status on left-at-home children’s peer relationship. Chinese Journal of Special Education2: 78–83 (in Chinese).
24.
LutharSSCicchettiDBeckerB (2000) The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development71(3): 543–562.
25.
McLachlanGPeelD (2000) Finite Mixture Models. New York: Wiley.
26.
MarkovicABowkerJC (2017) Friends also matter: Examining friendship adjustment indices as moderators of anxious-withdrawal and trajectories of change in psychological maladjustment. Developmental Psychology53(8): 1462–1473.
27.
MartinezYSchneiderBZambranaA, et al. (2015) Does comorbid anger exacerbate the rejection of children with depression by their school peers?Child Psychiatry & Human Development46(4): 493–500.
28.
MastenAS (2018) Resilience theory and research on children and families: Past, present, and promise. Journal of Family Theory & Review10: 12–31.
29.
ParkerJGAsherSR (1993) Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood: Links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. Developmental Psychology29(4): 611–621.
PengYSHuKWangYL (2017) Age of separating from parents and parent-child attachment in left-behind children. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology25(4): 731–733 (in Chinese).
32.
PetersERiksen-WalravenJMCillessenAH, et al. (2011) Peer rejection and HPA activity in middle childhood: Friendship makes a difference. Child Development82(6): 1906–1920.
33.
RobertsASeidmanEPedersenS, et al. (2000) Perceived family and peer transactions and self-esteem among urban early adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence20(1): 68–92.
34.
RoseAJRudolphKD (2006) A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin132(1): 98–131.
35.
SawilowskySS (2007) Real Data Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
36.
SmithALUllrich-FrenchSWalkerE, et al. (2006) Peer relationship profiles and motivation in youth sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology28(3): 362–382.
37.
SongJZuoBTanX, et al. (2017) Mediating effect of self-esteem in relationship between parental cohesion, peer acceptance and loneliness in left-behind children. Chinese Mental Health Journal31(5): 376–381 (in Chinese).
38.
SunXZhouZWangY, et al. (2010) Loneliness of children left in rural areas and its relation to peer relationship. Psychological Science33(2): 337–340 (in Chinese).
39.
UpdegraffKAPerez-BrenaNJBarilM, et al. (2012) Mexican-origin mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in adolescents’ peer relationships: A pattern-analytic approach. Journal of Marriage and Family74(5): 1069–1083.
40.
VéronneauMHVitaroFBrendgenM, et al. (2010) Transactional analysis of the reciprocal links between peer experiences and academic achievement from middle childhood to early adolescence. Developmental Psychology46(4): 773–790.
41.
WaldripAMMalcolmKTJensen-CampbellLA (2008) With a little help from your friends: The importance of high-quality friendships on early adolescent adjustment. Social Development17(4): 832–852.
42.
WenMLinD (2012) Child development in rural China: Children left behind by their migrant parents and children of nonmigrant families. Child Development83(1): 120–136.
43.
ZhangL (2011) A study of social relationships and loneliness of the rural left-behind children. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology19(1): 123–125 (in Chinese).
44.
ZhaoJLiuXWangM (2015) Parent-child cohesion, friend companionship and left-behind children’s emotional adaptation in rural China. Child Abuse & Neglect48: 190–199.
45.
ZhaoJLiuXZhangW (2013) Peer rejection, peer acceptance and psychological adjustment of left-behind children: The roles of parental cohesion and children’s cultural beliefs about adversity. Acta Psychologica Sinica45(7): 797–810 (in Chinese).
46.
ZouHZhouHZhouY (1998) Relationship among middle school students’ friendships, friendship quality and peer acceptance in China. Journal of Beijing Normal University (Social Sciences)1: 43–45 (in Chinese).
