Adolescents’ Use of AI Chatbots for Emotional Support and Its Association with Perceived Parent–Child Attachment Security: A Quantitative Study

Family Communication Quality and Adolescent Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Emotional Security

Adolescence is a developmental period in which family relationships may be associated with psychological well-being. This cross-sectional study examined whether Emotional Security (ES) statistically mediates the association between Family Communication Quality (FCQ) and Adolescent Psychological Well-Being (PWB). Participants were 250 adolescents aged 15–19 years recruited through purposive sampling from public senior high schools (SMA Negeri) in Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia, in April 2026. The instrument comprised 21 self-report items, with seven items representing each construct. Validator feedback was used to refine the instrument, and the final 21-item version was declared valid and ready for field administration. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4. FCQ was positively associated with ES (β = .481, t = 9.928, p < .001) and PWB (β = .249, t = 3.952, p < .001), while ES was positively associated with PWB (β = .293, t = 4.831, p < .001). The specific indirect association through ES was also statistically supported (β = .141, t = 4.093, p < .001), while the direct association remained significant, indicating complementary mediation. ES accounted for approximately 36.2% of the total FCQ–PWB association. Positive blindfolding Q² values for ES (.146) and PWB (.138) indicated in-sample predictive relevance and were not interpreted as out-of-sample performance. SRMR = .045 and NFI = .929 were treated as supplementary fit indices. The findings indicate that higher-quality family communication is associated with adolescent psychological well-being both directly and through emotional security. Given the cross-sectional, purposive, same-source self-report design, the results do not establish causality and should be generalized cautiously.

The Mediating Role of Parental Emotional Distress in the Relationship Between Neuroticism and Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Network Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling Study

Emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs) experienced by children have become an important global health issue requiring immediate attention. Previous studies have shown that parental neuroticism is associated with EBPs in children. However, the mechanisms underlying this association have yet to be fully elucidated. This study examined the relationship between parental neuroticism and preschoolers’ EBPs, focusing on the mediating role of parental emotional distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, and somatization). In addition, to gain a deeper understanding of children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties, this study constructed a comprehensive network of preschoolers’ EBPs to investigate the interconnections among individual symptoms. A total of 1216 Chinese families (Mchildren age = 4.46 years; 47.6% girls) participated in this study, completing the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) and network analysis. The results showed that parental neuroticism was positively associated with children’s EBPs, and this relationship was partially mediated by parental emotional distress. “Constantly fidgeting or squirming”, “stealing from home, kindergarten, or other places”, “often unhappy‚ depressed or tearful”, and “many fears‚ easily scared” emerged as the most central symptoms in the network of EBPs. These findings hold significant implications for enhancing well-being among parents and their preschool children, suggesting that parents should prevent the spread of negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. Timely, targeted interventions focusing on central symptoms of EBPs are essential for promoting children’s mental well-being.

Parental Insecure Attachment Styles and Clinical Psychological Symptoms in Adolescent Children: The Mediating Role of Coparenting

Parenting Styles and Attachment Patterns: Understanding Psychosocial Factors in Bullying among Students at St. Paul University Philippines

: The study seeks to determine the psychological and social issues which affect both bullying offenders and their targets at St. Paul University Philippines (SPUP) while creating an effective solution to stop all current and upcoming bullying incidents. The study examines how students view their parents' parenting methods which lead to different attachment patterns among students. The academic research was conducted through a descriptive research design which took place at SPUP Junior High School during the 2016 to 2017 academic period. The research team used validated surveys which included the Scale of Parenting Style Questionnaire and the Attachment Style Classification Questionnaire to collect data from students who had experienced bullying together with their parents and teachers. The majority of fathers (77.1%) and mothers (75.0%) in the study group used an authoritative parenting style which combines high parental responsiveness with strong parental control according to descriptive statistics. The study found that 68.8% of participants developed secure attachment while 17.7% showed anxious and 13.5% of participants established avoidant attachment patterns. The research discovered that secure attachment development and reduced bullying participation link to authoritative parenting methods but insecure attachments and higher bullying activity result from authoritarian and permissive and neglectful parenting techniques. The study findings lead to multiple recommendations which include parenting education programs and parent support services and school-based intervention programs and community support systems development as essential elements to establish secure attachments which will decrease bullying events at SPUP.

Dimensions of Parenting and Their Relation to Emotional Intelligence in Emerging Adults

During the critical stage of early adulthood, cultivating emotional intelligence-related abilities like social competence and emotional regulation may be useful for enhancing general well-being. The present study explored the relationship between parenting styles and emotional intelligence (EI) among emerging adults, with the primary objective of examining how different parenting approaches are related to the development of EI in individuals aged 19 to 25. A quantitative research design was employed, utilizing the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) by Buri (1991) and the Emotional Intelligence Scale by Dr. Arun Kr. Singh & Dr. Shruti Narain (2014). Data were collected from a sample of 100 college and university students. Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation was computed using the SPSS-26 software. Overall, findings indicated no statistically significant correlation between general parenting styles and the emotional intelligence of emerging adults. However, in-depth analysis revealed that mothers' authoritative parenting style was comparatively more correlated with higher EI levels. Conversely, fathers' parenting styles showed minimal correlation, suggesting a limited paternal influence on the emotional development of their children in this sample. These results provide a potential importance of emotional presence and involvement in parenting. In particular, the data suggest that when a father is not consistently emotionally engaged or involved in everyday interactions, even if he adopts an authoritative style, his impact on the child's emotional development may be limited. The study contributes to the understanding of family dynamics and underscores the differentiated roles of mothers and fathers in shaping emotional intelligence during emerging adulthood.

Social Provisions in Adolescents’ Relationships With Parents, Best Friends, and Teachers: Validation of the Network of Relationships Inventory–Social Provisions Version

Adolescents’ relationship quality plays a central role in socioemotional development. The Network of Relationships Inventory–Social Provisions Version (NRI-SPV) is widely used to assess relationship quality. However, evidence regarding its psychometric properties across different relationship types remains limited. This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, and convergent validity of the NRI-SPV in relationships with mothers, fathers, best friends, and teachers. A total of 714 participants (53.2% girls), aged 11 to 15 years ( M  = 13.08, SD  = 1.30), completed the inventory. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a nine-factor first-order structure, comprising seven positive provisions (reliable alliance, admiration, affection, companionship, instrumental help, intimacy, and nurturance) and two negative provisions (conflict and punishment), with good fit across relationship types (χ²/ df  = 1.99–2.56, CFI = .92–.97, TLI = .90–.96, RMSEA = 0.04–0.06, SRMR = .04–.06). In contrast, a second-order model with two higher-order factors (social support and negative interactions) showed poorer fit (χ²/ df  = 2.78–3.98, CFI = .87–.92, TLI = .85–.91, RMSEA = .06–.07, SRMR = .10–.16). Internal consistency was acceptable to strong, and all items loaded significantly on their intended factors. Convergent validity was demonstrated through robust associations with attachment security to mothers and fathers, indicating that the NRI-SPV effectively captures relational qualities aligned with established attachment constructs.