The impact of maternal emotional warmth on adolescents’ internalizing problem behaviors: the roles of meaning in life and friendship conflict

The findings suggest that adolescents, during their social adaptation process, activate different protective factors depending on the environmental relational context. Specifically, high friendship conflict limits the direct protective role of maternal emotional warmth, whereas a meaning in life becomes a significant protective factor, exerting its effect through mediation. Conversely, when friendship conflict is low, maternal emotional warmth directly serves as a protective factor.