Longitudinal effect of the parent‐child relationship in home quarantine on internalizing and externalizing problems after school reopening for students in boarding high school: A chain mediation model

Abstract The parent‐child relationship plays an important role in shaping adolescents' mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between the parent‐child relationship and mental health are unclear. Using a 2‐wave longitudinal design, this study examined the role of both mother‐child and father‐child relationships during home quarantine in boarding school students' internalizing and externalizing problems after school reopening, and the mediating roles of academic buoyancy and academic engagement. A total of 1967 boarding high school students completed a battery of self‐report questionnaires before and after school reopening. Results indicated that both father‐child and mother‐child relationships indirectly contributed to internalizing and externalizing problems through the interlinked mediation path of academic buoyancy and academic engagement. The mother‐child relationship had greater influence on internalizing and externalizing problems than the father‐child relationship. These findings clarify the associations between the parent‐child relationships and mental health problems of boarding high school students during the transition to school reopening in the COVID‐19 pandemic, expanding our understanding of psychological adjustment related to parent‐child relationships and the potential mechanisms of these relationships.