Mediating Effect of Social Self-Efficacy and Self-Blame on the Longitudinal Relationship Between Perceived Parent-Child Trust and Youth Mental Health

Guided by social cognitive theory and past empirical findings, the study’s conceptual model posited that parent-child trust promotes positive youth mental health through the pathways of social self-efficacy and self-blame. Using longitudinal data from 129 children aged 10–14 who participated over three waves of data collection in fall 2019, spring 2020, and spring 2021, this study extends current knowledge by examining potential mediators of the relationship between child-reported parent-child trust and youth mental health. Significant indirect pathways indicated that social self-efficacy fully mediated the association between perceived parent-child trust and youth mental health, and self-blame did not. Results of the study aligned with the social cognitive theory perspective that youth outcomes can be influenced by the acquisition of social skills through observational learning of healthy models, such as parents. Findings suggest that a tiered intervention model that utilizes social emotional learning and parent-based prevention could improve adolescent mental health.