Bidirectional Associations Between Peer Acceptance and Mood Disorders, and Their Mediating Role in Perceived Father Involvement with Rural Children Behavior Problems in China

Based on Affection exchange theory (AET), this study developed an "Exchange-Perception-Behavior" model of affectionate communication, explored how Chinese children's perceived father involvement affects their behavior problems, and verified the applicability of AET to the father-child relationship in rural China. By analyzing survey data from 635 rural children in seven provinces in China, the study found that perceived father involvement influences children's behavior problems through a series of mediating variables. The results of the path analysis showed that perceived father involvement indirectly influenced children's behavior problems through two mediating variables, peer acceptance, and mood disorders, and there was also a significant negative correlation between the two mediating variables, peer acceptance and mood disorders. The findings and discussion enhance our understanding of the communication of interpersonal emotions between fathers and children and its effects in traditional Chinese rural societies and provide new empirical support for the application of AET in rural East Asia.