Parent–Child Relationships and Adolescents’ Non-Cognitive Skills: Role of Social Anxiety and Number of Friends

This study aimed to examine the association between parent-child relationships and adolescents' non-cognitive skills, while also investigating the mediating effect of social anxiety and number of friends. A survey was conducted with 773 students, ranging from grade 4 to 9, in five public schools of Guangdong Province of China (49.9% male), with a mean age of 12.20 years old. Latent mediation structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that (1) the father-child relationship and mother-child relationship both had a positive influence on grit, innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; (2) social anxiety had a negative effect on adolescent non-cognitive skills including innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; (3) the number of positive friends was found to be positively associated with the development of non-cognitive skills in adolescents, whereas the presence of negative friends correlated negatively with grit but positively with innovation; (4) social anxiety emerged as a significant mediating variable between parent-child relationships and adolescents' non-cognitive skills, including innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; and (5) the mediating effect of the number of positive friends on the relationship between parent-child relationships and grit, innovation, conscientiousness, and hope was also found to be significant. Educational programs and family interventions should take these factors into account, providing a more holistic approach to supporting adolescent growth.