Family Functioning and Meaning in Life among Chinese Pre-adolescents and Adolescents: A 4-wave Longitudinal Study

Abstract Existing literature highlights the lack of longitudinal studies examining the mutual influences between micro-ecological environments, such as family functioning, and meaning in life among young people within Chinese cultural contexts. Against this backdrop, we conducted a four-wave longitudinal study to examine the trajectories of family functioning and meaning in life and investigated their reciprocal relationships over time. Data were collected from 2,652 primary and junior high school students in mainland China (M age at Wave 1 = 10.94 years old, SD = 1.32; 51.1% males). Using cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) analyses, we examined the autoregressive paths and cross-lagged regressions in family functioning and meaning in life at between- and within-person levels. Both models showed that across the four waves, prior meaning in life positively predicted subsequent family functioning and meaning in life. Consistent with CLPM analyses, RI-CLPM analyses indicated that across Wave 1 to Wave 3, prior family functioning positively predicted subsequent meaning in life and family functioning, but this predictive effect disappeared from Wave 3 to Wave 4. While family functioning displayed an upward trajectory, meaning in life showed a U-shaped curve. This study highlights the stability of meaning in life over time and its positive influence on family functioning and meaning in life over time, even during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.