Family functioning and psychological well-being in Chinese early adolescents: a three-wave study of future-oriented coping and gender differences

Abstract

Introduction Adolescent psychological well-being has been linked to family functioning, yet the longitudinal processes underlying this association remain insufficiently understood. This study examined whether future-oriented coping mediates the prospective association between family functioning and psychological well-being and whether this indirect association varies by gender. Methods A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted among 1,500 early adolescents from eight public secondary schools in Changchun, China. Family functioning was assessed at time 1, future-oriented coping at time 2, and psychological well-being at all three waves. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analyses were used to examine the hypothesized mediation model and gender differences while accounting for prior psychological well-being and demographic covariates. Results Higher family functioning was prospectively associated with greater future-oriented coping and higher psychological well-being. Future-oriented coping partially accounted for the longitudinal association between family functioning and psychological well-being (indirect effect: β = 0.195, 95% CI [0.132, 0.258]), and this indirect association was stronger among girls than boys (difference in indirect effects: β = 0.191, 95% CI [0.054, 0.329]). Discussion These findings suggest that future-oriented coping may represent one potential temporally ordered pathway linking family functioning to later psychological well-being, with the strength of this pathway differing between girls and boys.