A network analysis of the association between parenting styles and the current status of negative emotions among secondary school students in southern Anhui Province

OBJECTIVE: Exploring the relationship between parenting styles and negative emotions among secondary school students in southern Anhui Province from a network analysis perspective. METHODS: A random stratified cluster sampling method was employed to select 2135 secondary school students from five secondary schools in three cities in southern Anhui Province-Ma'anshan, Tongling, and Xuancheng-as the study subjects. Questionnaire surveys were conducted using the DASS-21 scale and the Revised short from of the Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (s-EMBU-C). Network models were constructed with R software, and data analysis was conducted with SPSS 26.0. RESULTS: Parental emotional warmth was negatively correlated with students' negative emotions (P < 0.01), while parental rejection and overprotection showed positive correlations (P < 0.01). The negative emotion network model shows that Dep-DASS7 and Stress-DASS4 are the core symptoms of negative emotions. In the network structure of parenting styles, the negative emotions are influenced by the emotional warmth of parents through the nodes of Dep-DASS3 and Stress-DASS6 nodes to influence the negative emotion network. This indicates that negative emotions and parenting styles are interconnected rather than independent. CONCLUSIONS: Dep-DASS7 and Stress-DASS4 are core symptoms, and using them as intervention targets can significantly reduce the occurrence of negative emotions among secondary school students. Parenting styles can influence the structure of the negative emotion network through the contact points of Dep-DASS3 and Stress-DASS6, thereby providing a scientific basis for preventing and improving the relationship between parents and secondary school students.