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Background <p>Parent-child bond especially the alienation towards parents, significantly influences an individual’s lifetime mental health. This study, grounded in intergenerational transmission theory, aims to reveal the influence of less-attended parents’ perceived alienation towards their own parents on children’s to-parent alienation and potential mediators (children’s life-events) and moderators (children’s gender and left-behind status).</p> Methods <p>782 Chinese parent-child pairs were surveyed using the Inventory of Alienation towards Parents and the Adolescent Self-Rating Life-events Checklist. Children (aged between 8 and 14 years old) were surveyed 6-months after parents’ survey.</p> Results <p>Parents’ to-parent and to-child alienation as well as children’s to-mother and to-father alienation were moderately to highly correlated (<i>r</i> = 0.50–0.91), while parents and children’s alienation were mildly correlated (<i>r</i> = 0.14–0.23). Structural equation modeling showed that mother’s to-parent alienation predicted children’s to-mother alienation, which was fully mediated by mother’s to-child alienation and children’s life-events. Father’s to-father alienation indirectly predicted children’s to-father alienation through children’s life-events. Moderation model showed that girls had a stronger correlation between parent’s to-mother and to-father alienation. The prediction of father’s to-father alienation on children’s life-events was weaker when the father was leaving home for more than six months.</p> Conclusions <p>The findings are among the first to reveal the prediction of parents’ perceived alienation on children’s alienation, with stronger effect from the same-gender parent. The intergenerational transmission of perceived alienation is mediated by children’s life-events and moderated by children’s gender and left-behind status. To interrupt the transmission of perceived alienation between generations, more attention should be paid to parents’ perceived alienation first, while children’s status (e.g., life-events and left-behind status) should also be considered to develop psychological interventions in schools and families.</p>

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Parent-to-child intergenerational influence of perceived alienation towards parents: mediation of children’s life-events, and moderation of children’s gender and left-behind status

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月6日

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  • Xiaoxiao Sun,
  • Xingcong Zhao,
  • Chun Cui,
  • Jieying Tan,
  • Xuemei Qin,
  • Qin Dai

摘要

Background

Parent-child bond especially the alienation towards parents, significantly influences an individual’s lifetime mental health. This study, grounded in intergenerational transmission theory, aims to reveal the influence of less-attended parents’ perceived alienation towards their own parents on children’s to-parent alienation and potential mediators (children’s life-events) and moderators (children’s gender and left-behind status).

Methods

782 Chinese parent-child pairs were surveyed using the Inventory of Alienation towards Parents and the Adolescent Self-Rating Life-events Checklist. Children (aged between 8 and 14 years old) were surveyed 6-months after parents’ survey.

Results

Parents’ to-parent and to-child alienation as well as children’s to-mother and to-father alienation were moderately to highly correlated (r = 0.50–0.91), while parents and children’s alienation were mildly correlated (r = 0.14–0.23). Structural equation modeling showed that mother’s to-parent alienation predicted children’s to-mother alienation, which was fully mediated by mother’s to-child alienation and children’s life-events. Father’s to-father alienation indirectly predicted children’s to-father alienation through children’s life-events. Moderation model showed that girls had a stronger correlation between parent’s to-mother and to-father alienation. The prediction of father’s to-father alienation on children’s life-events was weaker when the father was leaving home for more than six months.

Conclusions

The findings are among the first to reveal the prediction of parents’ perceived alienation on children’s alienation, with stronger effect from the same-gender parent. The intergenerational transmission of perceived alienation is mediated by children’s life-events and moderated by children’s gender and left-behind status. To interrupt the transmission of perceived alienation between generations, more attention should be paid to parents’ perceived alienation first, while children’s status (e.g., life-events and left-behind status) should also be considered to develop psychological interventions in schools and families.