Family Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Capital among Chinese Children: Roles of Parental Burnout and Family Function

Abstract

Psychological capital refers to positive psychological state and resources exhibited during individual growth. Prior research has demonstrated that family socioeconomic status (SES) affects children’s psychological capital, but the mechanism underlying their relationship is less known. The current study aims to examine the relationship between family SES psychological capital among children, as well as to explore the potential mediating roles of parental burnout and family function. A large sample of 3763 children (52.09% males and 47.91% females, Mage = 9.43 years, SD = 1.17) were selected from eight primary schools in Shenyang, China. The children completed the measures of FF and psychological capital, while one of their parents completed measures of family SES and parental burnout. The results revealed that, (a) family SES was positively associated with psychological capital among children; (b) parental burnout and family function independently mediated the relationship between family SES and psychological capital, separately; (c) parental burnout and family function also operated as sequential mediators in the relationship between family SES and psychological capital. The present study has unveiled the roles of multiple family factors including family SES, parental burnout and family function in the development of children’s psychological capital. The findings of this paper provide practitioners insight into how to increase children’s psychological capital.