The impact of love withdrawal and authority assertion on the conscience of Chinese children: Chain mediating effects of parent-child attachment and psychological resilience.

This study investigated the relationship between guilt induction (GI) in parental psychological control (PPC) and children's interpersonal relationships outside the family, as well as the chain mediating effects of parent-child dependence and conscience in this relationship. Data were collected from 1312 Chinese children using five scales to assess the dimensions of PPC: GI; the two dimensions of parent-child attachment, namely mother-child dependence (MCD) and father-child dependence (FCD); conscience; and two dimensions of children's interpersonal relationships outside the family: peer relationships (PR) and teacher-student relationships (TSR). Two important results were obtained: (1) In the model mediated by MCD and conscience, GI showed no significant direct effect on PR but had significant total and indirect effects. (2) In the model mediated by FCD and conscience, GI had significant total, direct, and indirect effects on teacher-student relationships. In summary, GI is an effective predictor of children's interpersonal relationships outside the family. On the surface, GI does not appear to affect children's PR in the short term, but gradually alienates children from their mothers in the long term, thereby hindering the development of conscience and PR. Additionally, GI directly affects teacher-student relationships, further alienates children from their fathers, and hinders conscience development, resulting in a further negative impact on teacher-student relationships.