Machiavellianism and family functioning in the link between peer attachment insecurity and adolescent problem behaviors: insights from a multi-method three-study design
摘要
The positive association between peer attachment insecurity and adolescents’ problem behaviors has been well-documented, but unanswered questions remain about the underlying mechanism and process. The present multi-method research expanded the current knowledge by probing for the mediating role of Machiavellianism in the positive association of peer attachment insecurity and adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Three independent samples of adolescents (Ntotal= 2,947) were used to address these study associations, net of key sociodemographic covariates and social desirability. Robustly replicated findings across three studies revealed that Machiavellianism mediated the positive relationship between peer attachment insecurity and adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Moderation analysis in Study 2b further indicated that positive family functioning differentially characterized the positive relationship between peer attachment insecurity and Machiavellianism, for better and for worse. The current insights into the mechanism and process of this study association punctuate that Machiavellianism, subjective to socioecological conditions (peer-family interaction), serves as an important bridge transferring peer attachment insecurity to adolescents’ problem behaviors.