The Effect of Pre-Service Teachers’ Family Adaptation on Anxiety: A Moderated Mediating Effect

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effects of family adaptation on anxiety, and the role of Zhongyong thinking style and intentional self-regulation in this association. A hypothetical model of the relationship between family adaptation, Zhongyong thinking style, intentional self-regulation, and anxiety was tested. A convenience sampling method was used to survey 1192 pre-service teachers in Yunnan Province on a self-report scale. Data were collected using the Family Adaptability Scale, the Zhongyong Thinking Style Scale, the Adolescent Intentional Self-Regulation Questionnaire, and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. The results show significant positive correlations among the three variables of family adaptation, Zhongyong thinking style and intentional self-regulation, and significant negative correlations with anxiety, respectively. Pre-service teachers’ family adaptation had a direct positive predictive effect on anxiety, which in turn indirectly predicted anxiety through the mediating effect of the Zhongyong thinking style, and individuals’ intentional self-regulation had a moderating effect of family adaptation on the Zhongyong thinking style. This study shows how family adaptation affects pre-service teachers’ anxiety; the results of this study also help to demonstrate the academic value of family adaptation and Zhongyong thinking style in optimally reducing pre-service teachers’ anxiety, and thus promoting good psychological status.