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<p>Although extensive evidence has shown that negative life events may undermine psychological well-being, the mechanisms through which negative life events shape psychological outcomes are still underexplored. Situated within the developmental context of heightened social comparison and expanding interpersonal interactions during childhood, this study investigates relative deprivation and social anxiety as parallel mediators linking cumulative negative life events to psychological well-being in children, with gender as a potential moderator in the proposed pathways. Using a two-wave longitudinal design with a six-month interval, data were collected from 759 children in S City, Jilin Province, China (49.67% male and 50.33% female). Results from the half-longitudinal mediation model demonstrated that relative deprivation (<i>β</i> = -0.013, <i>p</i> = 0.032, 95%CI [-0.218, -0.025]) and social anxiety (<i>β</i> = -0.007, <i>p</i> = 0.041, 95%CI [-0.137, -0.018]) operated as parallel mediators between negative life events and children’s psychological well-being. Although the multi-group analysis did not indicate statistically significant gender differences in these pathways, the path coefficients in the subgroup analyses suggested a possible gender-related trend in the social anxiety pathways. Negative life events significantly predicted higher social anxiety in females (<i>β</i> = 0.091, <i>p</i> = 0.015), whereas the corresponding association was marginal in males (<i>β</i> = 0.078, <i>p</i> = 0.050). Social anxiety was negatively associated with psychological well-being among females (<i>β</i> = -0.131, <i>p</i> = 0.003) but not among males (<i>β</i> = -0.051, <i>p</i> = 0.303). This pattern suggests that the social anxiety pathway appeared to be more pronounced among girls. The findings of this study highlight the distinct mediating roles of relative deprivation and social anxiety and suggest that interventions for children exposed to life adversities should incorporate cognitive restructuring to mitigate negative social comparisons, as well as social skills training to overcome fears of social interaction, while remaining attentive to possible gender-related trends in the social anxiety pathway.</p>

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Linking Negative Life Events to Children’s Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Roles of Relative Deprivation and Social Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Gender

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月28日

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  • Xiaochun Cheng,
  • Xinwen Zhang,
  • Jiaping Li

摘要

Although extensive evidence has shown that negative life events may undermine psychological well-being, the mechanisms through which negative life events shape psychological outcomes are still underexplored. Situated within the developmental context of heightened social comparison and expanding interpersonal interactions during childhood, this study investigates relative deprivation and social anxiety as parallel mediators linking cumulative negative life events to psychological well-being in children, with gender as a potential moderator in the proposed pathways. Using a two-wave longitudinal design with a six-month interval, data were collected from 759 children in S City, Jilin Province, China (49.67% male and 50.33% female). Results from the half-longitudinal mediation model demonstrated that relative deprivation (β = -0.013, p = 0.032, 95%CI [-0.218, -0.025]) and social anxiety (β = -0.007, p = 0.041, 95%CI [-0.137, -0.018]) operated as parallel mediators between negative life events and children’s psychological well-being. Although the multi-group analysis did not indicate statistically significant gender differences in these pathways, the path coefficients in the subgroup analyses suggested a possible gender-related trend in the social anxiety pathways. Negative life events significantly predicted higher social anxiety in females (β = 0.091, p = 0.015), whereas the corresponding association was marginal in males (β = 0.078, p = 0.050). Social anxiety was negatively associated with psychological well-being among females (β = -0.131, p = 0.003) but not among males (β = -0.051, p = 0.303). This pattern suggests that the social anxiety pathway appeared to be more pronounced among girls. The findings of this study highlight the distinct mediating roles of relative deprivation and social anxiety and suggest that interventions for children exposed to life adversities should incorporate cognitive restructuring to mitigate negative social comparisons, as well as social skills training to overcome fears of social interaction, while remaining attentive to possible gender-related trends in the social anxiety pathway.