Parenting styles and school bullying among Chinese adolescents: the mediating effects of social support and cognitive reappraisal

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the relationship between parental emotional warmth and overprotective parenting styles in relation to children’s experiences of school bullying, focusing on the chain mediating roles of social support and cognitive reappraisal. The study emphasizes the theoretical contribution of integrating these mechanisms, particularly within the Chinese cultural context, to advance understanding of bullying prevention strategies.

Methodology

A survey-based design was employed with a sample of 566 primary school students aged 10 to 13. Validated scales were used to measure parental emotional warmth, overprotective parenting, social support, cognitive reappraisal, and school bullying. Pearson correlation and path analysis were conducted to explore the direct and indirect effects of parenting styles on bullying victimization, with particular attention to the chain mediation model involving social support and cognitive reappraisal.

Findings

Results indicate that parental emotional warmth significantly enhances children’s social support and cognitive reappraisal abilities, which in turn reduces the likelihood of experiencing school bullying. In contrast, overprotective parenting negatively affects these mediators, increasing the risk of bullying victimization. Further analysis revealed that social support and cognitive reappraisal jointly mediate the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying, highlighting a chain-mediating mechanism. These findings provide new insights into how family dynamics influence bullying outcomes, particularly within the Chinese cultural context.

Implications

This study provides valuable insights for family education programs and school-based anti-bullying interventions, emphasizing the importance of promoting supportive and autonomy-enhancing parenting practices. By fostering social support networks and encouraging positive emotion regulation strategies, stakeholders—including educators, parents, and policymakers—can work collaboratively to mitigate school bullying and strengthen children’s resilience. This research highlights the need for culturally specific approaches in addressing school bullying and enhancing adolescent development in China.

School bullying, a widespread form of campus violence, has garnered significant attention globally due to its adverse effects on students’ well-being. School bullying is not limited to physical violence; it also includes verbal insults, social exclusion, and cyberbullying. These behaviors can lead to severe consequences, including negative impacts on the psychological health, academic performance, and social adaptability of victimized students [1, 2]. With the rapid advancement of information technology and the increasing competition in society, cyberbullying has emerged as a novel and particularly harmful form of school bullying. Its covert and pervasive nature presents new challenges for prevention and intervention efforts [3].

In China, the prevalence of school bullying has similarly intensified in recent years, especially during the primary school stage, where bullying incidents are notably frequent. According to data from the Ministry of Education, the proportion of primary school students experiencing bullying has shown an upward trend, indicating the growing severity of this issue [4]. The implications of school bullying extend beyond academic and psychological outcomes, as they are linked to serious social problems such as suicide, truancy, and even criminal behavior [5, 6]. These issues not only jeopardize students’ personal development but also challenge the educational environment and the stability of society. Therefore, an in-depth exploration of the causes and influencing factors of school bullying is urgently needed to design more effective prevention and intervention strategies.

The family environment, as the primary context for children’s socialization, plays a critical role in shaping adolescents’ development. Parental parenting styles significantly influence children’s psychological development, emotional regulation abilities, and social adaptability [7, 8]. In recent years, a growing body of research has explored the impact of different parental styles on children’s behavior and mental health, particularly the potential effects of emotional warmth and overprotective parenting styles on school bullying [9, 10]. These findings suggest that understanding how parenting influences school bullying can provide valuable insights for prevention strategies.

Emotional warmth in parenting refers to the supportive, loving, and understanding relationship between parents and children during the child-rearing process. This parenting style helps children develop self-esteem, security, and emotional resilience, fostering positive social behaviors and good psychological health [7]. Studies show that a family environment characterized by emotional warmth can effectively reduce the likelihood of children experiencing bullying. Children in such environments are more likely to establish healthy interpersonal relationships and develop strong emotional regulation abilities and stress-coping strategies [11, 12]. These children, with the support of emotionally warm parents, are more inclined to adopt proactive coping mechanisms, such as seeking help and resolving conflicts, which reduces their vulnerability to bullying [13].

In contrast, overprotective parenting is marked by excessive control and interference by parents, which restricts children’s independence and autonomy and hinders their ability to cope with challenges. Children raised in overprotective environments often lack essential social skills and self-efficacy, making them more prone to anxiety and helplessness when confronted with bullying. This increases their likelihood of becoming victims of bullying [9, 10]. Furthermore, overprotective parenting can strain parent-child relationships, decreasing children’s willingness to seek social support [14].

In recent years, social support and cognitive reappraisal have emerged as critical psychological mechanisms that can buffer the effects of school bullying. Social support, which includes emotional, informational, and material support from social networks, enhances psychological resilience and helps individuals better cope with the stress caused by bullying [15, 16]. Research has shown that emotionally warm parenting fosters positive interactions between children and their social networks, such as peers, teachers, and community members, thereby increasing children’s levels of social support [12]. This social support not only provides emotional comfort but also improves children’s ability to handle stress and conflicts, reducing their susceptibility to bullying [16].

Cognitive reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy, involves changing one’s perception of a situation to manage emotional responses [17]. In the context of school bullying, cognitive reappraisal allows children to reframe bullying events, reducing negative emotions and preventing maladaptive coping behaviors [18]. Parents’ emotional warmth promotes the use of positive emotion regulation strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal, whereas overprotective parenting may impair children’s ability to reappraise negative events, leading to more passive coping [9]. Additionally, social support not only directly mitigates the stress caused by bullying but also encourages the use of cognitive reappraisal by providing emotional and cognitive resources [16].

Despite the growing body of research on parental influence and school bullying, the mechanisms through which emotional warmth and overprotective parenting impact bullying, particularly in terms of social support and cognitive reappraisal, require further exploration. Moreover, most of the existing studies have been conducted within Western cultural contexts, leaving a gap in research on these mechanisms in Chinese culture. This study aims to fill this gap by systematically examining the effects of emotional warmth and overprotective parenting on children’s experiences of school bullying and the mediating roles of social support and cognitive reappraisal. The study’s innovation lies in its exploration of these mechanisms within the Chinese cultural context, offering novel insights that contribute to the theoretical understanding of bullying and the development of more targeted family education and school anti-bullying policies.

Theoretical framework

parenting styles on adolescents’ experiences with school bullying and explore the mediating roles of social support and cognitive reappraisal. To thoroughly investigate these relationships, this study is grounded in three complementary theoretical frameworks: Ecological Systems Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Emotion Regulation Theory. Together, these theories offer a structured approach to understanding how different parenting styles influence children’s social support networks, emotion regulation strategies, and ultimately their vulnerability to school bullying.

Ecological systems theory

Ecological Systems Theory, proposed by Bronfenbrenner [19], emphasizes that individual development is shaped by various levels of environmental systems. These systems include the microsystem (e.g., family, school), the mesosystem (e.g., interactions between family and school), the exosystem (e.g., parents’ work environment), and the macrosystem (e.g., cultural values). Parenting styles, which are central to the family microsystem, play a significant role in children’s socialization and emotional development. Parental emotional warmth fosters a supportive home environment that can positively influence children’s self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, and resilience to bullying, thereby reducing the likelihood of victimization in school [11]. On the other hand, overprotective parenting may restrict children’s autonomy and hinder the development of essential social skills, making them more vulnerable to bullying [9].

Moreover, Ecological Systems Theory highlights the role of social support as a critical buffer. Social support, which encompasses emotional, informational, and practical assistance from various sources such as peers, teachers, and parents, connects multiple environmental systems (mesosystem and exosystem). An emotionally warm parenting style enables children to develop a broad network of support, equipping them to manage bullying effectively [16]. In contrast, overprotective parenting may limit opportunities for children to gain social support, leaving them ill-prepared to deal with bullying experiences [20]. This framework underscores the importance of both the direct and indirect effects of parenting on children’s social environments.

Social cognitive theory

Social Cognitive Theory, proposed by Bandura [21], explains that individuals learn and adapt through their social interactions and by observing and imitating others. The theory posits that behavior is shaped by the dynamic interaction between personal factors (e.g., cognition, emotions) and environmental factors (e.g., family, peers). In the context of school bullying, cognitive reappraisal is a key emotion regulation strategy that helps children adjust their emotional responses to bullying incidents.

This study examines how different parenting styles affect children’s emotional regulation abilities, particularly through cognitive reappraisal. An emotionally warm parenting style fosters the development of healthy emotion regulation strategies, including the ability to reframe negative experiences, thus reducing the emotional and psychological impact of bullying [13]. In contrast, overprotective parenting may hinder children’s capacity to independently manage emotions and solve problems, leading to ineffective coping mechanisms when faced with bullying [9].

Moreover, Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the role of parents as role models. Children learn by observing their parents’ emotional responses and coping strategies. A warm parenting style models positive behaviors such as effective conflict resolution, helping children develop resilience and reducing their vulnerability to bullying [21].

Emotion regulation theory

Emotion Regulation Theory, proposed by Gross [17, 22], focuses on how individuals regulate their emotions in response to various experiences. Cognitive reappraisal is one of the primary emotion regulation strategies, involving the re-evaluation of a situation to alter its emotional impact [17]. In the context of school bullying, cognitive reappraisal enables children to reinterpret bullying incidents in a way that minimizes negative emotions and reduces maladaptive coping responses [18].

This theory underscores the importance of emotional warmth in parenting as a facilitator of positive emotion regulation strategies like cognitive reappraisal [13]. In contrast, overprotective parenting may weaken children’s ability to reappraise negative events, making them more prone to stress and passive coping behaviors [9]. Additionally, social support acts as both a direct buffer against bullying and an indirect resource that enhances emotional regulation strategies, further promoting the use of cognitive reappraisal [16]. Therefore, both social support and cognitive reappraisal serve as key mediators in the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying.

In summary, the integration of Ecological Systems Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Emotion Regulation Theory provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding how parenting styles influence children’s experiences with school bullying. These theories highlight the mediating roles of social support and cognitive reappraisal, illustrating how different family environments contribute to children’s ability to cope with bullying.

Parental parenting styles and school bullying

Parental parenting styles, as key family factors influencing children’s behavior and psychological development, have garnered extensive attention in recent years within the context of school bullying research. Different types of parenting styles significantly impact children’s social behaviors, self-regulation abilities, and strategies for coping with bullying in school settings. This section explores the effects of parental emotional warmth parenting styles and overprotective parenting styles on school bullying.

Emotional warmth parenting style and school bullying

Emotional warmth parenting style refers to the love, support, and understanding that parents exhibit during the child-rearing process. This style enhances children’s self-esteem, self-efficacy, and positive social behaviors [7]. A family environment characterized by emotional warmth provides children with emotional security and support, equipping them with stronger coping abilities and psychological resilience when facing school bullying.

Research indicates that emotional warmth parenting style significantly reduces the risk of children becoming victims of school bullying. On one hand, emotionally warm parents facilitate the establishment of positive interpersonal relationships, enhancing children’s social skills and conflict resolution abilities, thereby lowering the probability of being bullied [11]. On the other hand, this parenting style helps children develop positive emotion regulation strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal, enabling them to effectively manage negative emotions resulting from bullying [13].

Additionally, emotional warmth parenting style enhances children’s self-esteem and confidence, strengthening their self-protection awareness and actions when confronted with bullying. High self-esteem and confidence make children more willing to seek help and support, actively addressing bullying behaviors, thereby reducing the frequency and severity of bullying incidents [12].

Overprotective parenting style and school bullying

Overprotective parenting style refers to parents’ excessive intervention and control over their children, limiting their autonomy and independence. This style often undermines children’s ability to cope with challenges and solve problems [23]. Although overprotective parents act out of concern and care, they may unintentionally suppress their children’s self-development and social adaptability, increasing the risk of children becoming victims of bullying in school.

Research has found a positive correlation between overprotective parenting style and the likelihood of children experiencing bullying in school. Overprotection restricts children’s opportunities for interaction with peers, weakening their social skills and self-efficacy, making them more prone to feelings of helplessness and anxiety when facing bullying [9]. The lack of effective social skills and self-confidence makes it difficult for children to cope with bullying, thereby increasing the likelihood of becoming targets [10].

Furthermore, overprotective parenting style may lead to strained parent-child relationships and a lack of trust, diminishing children’s willingness and ability to seek social support [14]. When children experience bullying, the absence of understanding and support from parents makes it harder for them to obtain necessary help and guidance, exacerbating the negative impacts of bullying [20].

In summary, parental parenting styles play a crucial role in influencing children’s experiences of school bullying. Emotional warmth parenting style reduces the risk of children becoming victims by enhancing their social support and emotion regulation abilities, while overprotective parenting style increases the likelihood of bullying by undermining children’s social skills and self-confidence. Therefore, understanding and optimizing parenting styles are of significant importance for preventing and reducing school bullying.

The role of social support and cognitive reappraisal in the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying

In examining the impact of parental parenting styles on children’s experiences of school bullying, social support and cognitive reappraisal emerge as crucial mediating variables, playing significant roles in bridging the connection between parenting styles and bullying outcomes. Understanding the mechanisms through which these variables operate can provide a more comprehensive view of how family and social environments influence adolescent behavior and mental health.

The mediating role of social support

Social support refers to the emotional, informational, and material assistance that individuals receive from their social networks, such as family, peers, teachers, and community members [15]. Research has consistently shown that social support serves as a critical buffer in reducing the negative impact of bullying. Not only does social support provide direct psychological comfort, but it also enhances an individual’s ability to cope with stress and manage conflicts [16].

Parental emotional warmth fosters positive relationships between children and their social networks, including peers, teachers, and community members. This supportive family environment encourages open communication, empathy, and shared problem-solving, thereby expanding children’s social networks. These relationships provide children with essential coping resources, which in turn reduces their vulnerability to bullying. Warm and emotionally supportive parents also model healthy interpersonal relationships, teaching their children how to navigate conflicts and build positive peer relationships, which further enhances their social support systems [11]. Studies have shown that children with strong social support networks tend to have better psychological resilience, making them more adept at managing bullying situations [12].

Conversely, an overprotective parenting style limits children’s opportunities for social interaction outside of the family, narrowing their social circles and reducing their access to support networks. Overprotected children may feel isolated, with fewer opportunities to engage in positive peer relationships. The lack of support from peers, teachers, and other social connections increases their vulnerability to bullying, as they have fewer resources to draw upon in difficult situations [20]. Additionally, excessive parental control can foster feelings of helplessness and dependence, further limiting the child’s ability to seek or utilize external support when needed [14].

The importance of social support as a mediator is further underscored by research that shows how social support reduces the psychological distress associated with bullying. It buffers the negative effects of bullying by providing emotional comfort and practical help, reducing anxiety, depression, and maladaptive coping strategies [15]. Social support, therefore, plays a pivotal role in enhancing the positive impact of emotional warmth while magnifying the detrimental effects of overprotective parenting [24].

The mediating role of cognitive reappraisal

Cognitive reappraisal is an emotion regulation strategy that involves altering one’s cognitive interpretation of a situation or stimulus to regulate one’s own emotions [17]. As a positive emotion regulation strategy, cognitive reappraisal helps individuals re-evaluate negative events, reducing the generation and impact of negative emotions, thereby promoting healthier coping behaviors [18].

In the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying, cognitive reappraisal plays a key mediating role. An emotional warmth parenting style enhances children’s emotion regulation abilities, particularly the use of cognitive reappraisal, thereby reducing their negative emotional reactions and maladaptive coping behaviors when experiencing bullying [13]. A warm family environment provides children with emotional support and a sense of security, enabling them to view and respond to bullying incidents more positively, thereby reducing psychological stress and the accumulation of negative emotions [16].

Conversely, an overprotective parenting style may weaken children’s cognitive reappraisal abilities. Excessive control and intervention limit the development of independent thinking and emotion regulation skills, leading to a lack of effective coping strategies when facing bullying [9]. In such cases, children are more likely to experience negative emotional reactions, such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, increasing their psychological burden and behavioral risks of being bullied [24].

Furthermore, cognitive reappraisal can alter children’s cognitive frameworks regarding bullying incidents, reducing their overreactions to negative events and thereby decreasing the likelihood and severity of being bullied [18]. Therefore, cognitive reappraisal mediates the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying, explaining not only the protective mechanisms of an emotional warmth parenting style but also how an overprotective parenting style increases the risk of bullying by undermining cognitive reappraisal abilities [13].

The chain-mediating role of social support and cognitive reappraisal

There exists a close interactive relationship between social support and cognitive reappraisal. Adequate social support not only directly buffers the stress caused by school bullying but also provides individuals with more cognitive and emotional regulation resources, promoting the use of cognitive reappraisal strategies [16]. Therefore, social support and cognitive reappraisal may jointly serve as mediating variables, forming a chain-mediating effect that further explains the mechanisms through which parenting styles influence school bullying.

Specifically, an emotional warmth parenting style enhances children’s sense of social support, providing more emotional and informational resources, which in turn promotes the development of cognitive reappraisal abilities [12]. This chain-mediating effect enables an emotional warmth parenting style to more effectively reduce the risk of children experiencing school bullying [11]. Conversely, an overprotective parenting style weakens the sense of social support, limiting children’s access to cognitive reappraisal resources and further exacerbating their negative emotional reactions and maladaptive coping behaviors when facing bullying [9].

In summary, social support and cognitive reappraisal play significant mediating and chain-mediating roles in the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying. Understanding the mediating mechanisms of these two variables helps to elucidate how family and social environments jointly influence adolescents’ experiences of school bullying, providing a theoretical basis for developing effective prevention and intervention strategies.

Integration with theoretical frameworks

The theoretical frameworks guiding this study—Ecological Systems Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Emotion Regulation Theory—help explain the mechanisms through which parental parenting styles influence school bullying. According to Ecological Systems Theory, the family, as part of the microsystem, directly shapes children’s emotional development and social behaviors [19]. Emotionally warm parenting creates a supportive family environment that facilitates the development of positive social behaviors and coping strategies, reducing the risk of bullying. In contrast, overprotective parenting restricts children’s autonomy and social skills, making them more susceptible to bullying.

From the perspective of Social Cognitive Theory, parenting styles influence children’s social behaviors and coping strategies through observational learning and self-regulation. Children learn to manage bullying situations by observing their parents’ emotional responses and conflict resolution strategies. Emotional warmth fosters the development of effective coping mechanisms like cognitive reappraisal, while overprotective parenting limits children’s ability to develop these essential skills [21].

Emotion Regulation Theory further supports these findings by explaining how emotional warmth helps children regulate their emotions and cope with bullying incidents. The ability to use cognitive reappraisal—altering one’s interpretation of bullying to reduce emotional distress—becomes more pronounced in children raised in emotionally warm environments. Conversely, overprotective parenting hinders the development of emotion regulation strategies, making children more vulnerable to bullying [22].

In summary, the integration of these three theoretical frameworks with previous research highlights the crucial role of parenting styles in shaping children’s experiences with school bullying. Emotional warmth parenting reduces the likelihood of bullying by enhancing children’s social support networks, self-regulation abilities, and coping strategies. Overprotective parenting, on the other hand, increases vulnerability to bullying by limiting children’s social skills, self-efficacy, and emotional resilience. Understanding these dynamics is essential for developing effective prevention and intervention strategies for school bullying.

The current study

While the existing literature has laid the groundwork for understanding the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying, significant gaps remain. Previous studies have contributed valuable insights into the effects of emotional warmth and overprotective parenting on children’s emotional and social outcomes. However, most research has primarily focused on Western cultural contexts, leaving a gap in understanding how these dynamics operate in non-Western settings, such as China. Furthermore, while much has been discussed regarding the direct impact of parenting styles on children’s bullying experiences, the specific mediating mechanisms, such as social support and cognitive reappraisal, have been less extensively explored.

This study builds on these contributions by integrating social support and cognitive reappraisal as mediators, offering a more nuanced understanding of how parenting styles shape children’s resilience to bullying. It also addresses the limitations of prior research by examining these relationships within the Chinese cultural context, where parenting practices and educational systems may differ significantly from Western models. By exploring these mediators, this research aims to offer new insights into the mechanisms through which parenting influences children’s vulnerability to bullying and to propose more targeted intervention strategies. These breakthroughs are critical for advancing both theoretical research and practical applications in the field of school bullying prevention.

Research methods and data collection

The research was conducted in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki for experiments involving humans. After obtaining approval from an IRB office in China (approval number: 2024-46), a written parental consent form was sent to the principals of three different primary schools in Sichuan Province via email, requesting them to distribute the consent forms to the parents of potential participants. The study was conducted in three different elementary schools in Sichuan, and only the data from students whose parents had signed the informed consent form were included in the analysis. The informed consent forms were paper-based, and no rewards were provided to the participating families.

Participants

The study utilized convenience sampling, administering questionnaires to school students. A total of 566 valid responses were collected, resulting in a response rate of 94%. Among the participants, 275 were male (48.6%) and 291 were female (51.4%), aged between 10 and 13 years, with a mean age of 11.09 ± 0.55 years. Informed consent was obtained from each student, and personal information was kept strictly confidential throughout the research process.

Measures

This study used several validated instruments to measure the key constructs related to parenting styles, emotion regulation, social support, and school bullying. For all the scales used, the average score for each tool was calculated and analyzed.

Parenting Styles: The s-EMBU-C questionnaire, revised by Jiang et al. [25] based on the s-EMBU scale, was used to measure the parenting styles of participants’ parents. The scale consists of 21 items divided into three dimensions: parental rejection (6 items), parental warmth (7 items), and parental overprotection (8 items). Responses are scored on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“never”) to 4 (“always”). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.814. After conducting Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the model indices were as follows: CFI = 0.856, TLI = 0.852, SRMR = 0.038, indicating acceptable construct validity [26].

Emotion Regulation: The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) developed by Gross [27] consists of 10 items rated on a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating more frequent use of emotion regulation strategies. The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale in this study was 0.650. CFA results for the ERQ model showed good fit indices: CFI = 0.950, TLI = 0.963, SRMR = 0.043, supporting the construct validity of the instrument [26].

Perceived Social Support: The Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), developed by Blumenthal et al. [28] and later modified by Jiang for Chinese populations, was used to measure perceived social support. The PSSS contains 12 self-rated items, each scored on a 7-point scale from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 7 (“strongly agree”), with higher scores indicating higher perceived social support. The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale in this study was 0.918. The model fit indices for the PSSS were also strong: CFI = 0.959, TLI = 0.948, SRMR = 0.035, confirming its construct validity [26].

Bullying Experience: The study used a revised Chinese version of the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire for children, adapted by Zhang et al. [29]. This scale includes 6 items rated on a 5-point scale ranging from “never happened this term” to “several times a week,” with higher scores indicating a higher level of bullying experience. The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale in this study was 0.793.

Data analysis

Harman’s single-factor test was used to check for common method bias. The results showed six factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, and the variance explained by the first factor was 25.856%, which is below the 40% critical value. This indicates that there was no significant common method bias in the study [21], allowing for subsequent data analysis.

Before conducting correlation and path analyses, a normal distribution test was performed. The results indicated that the data did not follow a normal distribution. Given this, bootstrapping were employed to account for the non-normality of the data. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were conducted for the primary variables, and an indirect effect model was constructed using Mplus 7.0. The mediating effects were examined using the Bootstrap method, which is robust to violations of normality.”

Results

Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis

Pearson correlation analysis was conducted on emotional warmth parenting style, overprotective parenting style, social support, cognitive reappraisal, and school bullying. The results are shown in Table 1. From Table 1, it can be seen that emotional warmth parenting style has a significant negative correlation with overprotective parenting style and school bullying behavior, and a significant positive correlation with social support and cognitive reappraisal. Social support and cognitive reappraisal are significantly positively correlated with each other, and significantly negatively correlated with school bullying. Cognitive reappraisal is also significantly negatively correlated with school bullying.

Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis results for each variable (n = 566)

Mediating effects of social support and cognitive reappraisal in the relationship between emotional warmth parenting style, overprotective parenting style, and school bullying

Based on the hypotheses, the study employed a path model to examine the mediating effects of social support and cognitive reappraisal in the process by which emotional warmth parenting style and overprotective parenting style influence adolescents’ school bullying. Following the mediation effect testing procedure proposed by Wen Zhonglin et al. (2004), we first established a direct effect model to analyze the direct impact of emotional warmth parenting style and overprotective parenting style on school bullying. In the direct effect model, to avoid Type I errors, we established a correlation path between emotional warmth parenting style and overprotective parenting style. The direct effect model was a saturated model, χ² = 0.000, CFI = 1.000, TLI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000, SRMR = 0.000. Path analysis of the model revealed that overprotective parenting style positively predicts school bullying (β = 0.125, p = 0.009). In the direct effect model, the total explanatory power of mothers’ parenting style and overprotective parenting style on school bullying was 1.5% (R² = 0.015).

Next, based on the direct effect model, we added social support and cognitive reappraisal between emotional warmth parenting style and overprotective parenting style and school bullying to establish the final indirect effect model (Fig. 1). After testing the model in Fig. 1, it was found that the indirect effect model was also a saturated model, χ² = 0.000, CFI = 1.000, TLI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000, SRMR = 0.000. Examining the path coefficients and their significance in the model, it was found that emotional warmth parenting style positively predicts social support and cognitive reappraisal (β = 0.259, p < 0.001; β = 0.270, p < 0.001); overprotective parenting style negatively predicts social support and cognitive reappraisal (β = -0.390, p < 0.001; β = -0.100, p = 0.015); social support positively predicts cognitive reappraisal (β = 0.394, p < 0.001) and negatively predicts school bullying (β = -0.766, p < 0.001), while cognitive reappraisal positively predicts school bullying (β = 0.161, p < 0.001). These results indicate that emotional warmth parenting style can indirectly positively predict school bullying through social support and cognitive reappraisal, and can also indirectly positively predict school bullying through the chain mediating effect of social support and cognitive reappraisal. In the indirect effect model, the total explanatory power of emotional warmth parenting style, overprotective parenting style, social support, and cognitive reappraisal on school bullying was 38.0% (R² = 0.380).

Fig. 1

Mediating model of social support and cognitive reappraisal between emotional warmth and overprotective parenting styles and school bullying. Note. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Next, the study further employed Bias-corrected Bootstrap tests to examine the significance of the aforementioned mediating paths. The results are shown in Table 2. From Table 2, it can be seen that all indirect paths’ 95% confidence intervals do not include 0, further confirming the mediation effects.

Table 2 Bootstrap test results for the paths from emotional warmth and overprotective parenting styles to school bullying

Discussion

Integration with theoretical frameworks

The findings of this study can be analyzed through the lens of several theoretical frameworks discussed in the literature review.

According to Ecological Systems Theory, individual development is shaped by various environmental systems, with the family playing a crucial role. In this study, the results suggest that parental emotional warmth, as part of the family microsystem, can enhance children’s social support networks and cognitive reappraisal abilities, which, in turn, reduces their risk of experiencing school bullying. On the other hand, overprotective parenting appears to limit children’s autonomy and social skills, making them more susceptible to bullying.

From the perspective of Social Cognitive Theory, individuals adapt and learn within their social environments through processes such as observation, imitation, and self-regulation. The findings indicate that emotionally warm parenting fosters the development of positive cognitive reappraisal strategies in children, helping them better manage their cognitive interpretations of bullying incidents. This enables children to reduce negative emotions and avoid maladaptive coping behaviors. In contrast, overprotective parenting may inhibit the development of independent thinking and emotional regulation skills, leading to less effective coping strategies when facing bullying.

Looking at the results through the lens of Emotion Regulation Theory, which focuses on how individuals manage their emotional responses, it becomes clear that emotional warmth from parents supports the development of healthy emotion regulation strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal. However, overprotective parenting may impair children’s ability to reframe negative events effectively, pushing them toward passive coping strategies.

The influence of emotional warmth parenting style and overprotective parenting style on children experiencing school bullying

This study utilized path analysis to uncover the mechanisms through which parental emotional warmth and overprotective parenting styles influence children’s experiences of bullying in school. The specific results indicate that emotional warmth parenting style positively predicts children’s social support, cognitive reappraisal abilities, and the extent of school bullying they experience; whereas overprotective parenting style negatively predicts these variables. These findings hold significant theoretical and practical implications, particularly in understanding how different parenting styles affect adolescents’ experiences of school bullying through multiple mechanisms.

The impact of emotional warmth parenting style

This study found that emotional warmth parenting style not only positively predicts children’s social support and cognitive reappraisal abilities but also shows a positive correlation with the bullying children experience in school. This result partially contradicts the general conclusions of existing research and may be explained by the following factors: Reporting Bias: Parents who exhibit emotional warmth are typically more attentive and understanding of their children’s emotional needs. Consequently, children in such nurturing environments may be more willing to report or express the bullying incidents they experience. This could lead to a positive correlation between emotional warmth parenting style and bullying, whereas, in reality, emotional warmth still plays a protective role [13]. Complexity of Interactions: Emotional warmth does not necessarily mean that parents provide positive feedback for all of their children’s behaviors. In certain situations, excessive concern and intervention may lead children to exhibit dependency or lack of autonomy in school environments. This can result in passive or evasive coping strategies when facing bullying, indirectly increasing the risk of being bullied [11]. Cultural Background Differences: In the Chinese cultural context, expressions of emotional warmth differ from those in Western cultures. For example, emotional warmth may be more manifested through actions rather than verbal expressions. This indirect form of emotional support may sometimes be misconstrued as a lack of concern, affecting children’s social interactions in school and increasing the likelihood of being bullied [12].

Despite the direct path showing a positive correlation between emotional warmth parenting style and school bullying, the indirect paths through social support and cognitive reappraisal indicate that emotional warmth parenting style still has an overall protective effect. Specifically, emotional warmth parenting style enhances children’s social support networks and cognitive reappraisal abilities, thereby improving their ability to cope with bullying and reducing the overall risk of being bullied [16]. This result underscores the importance of emotional warmth parenting style in fostering children’s psychological resilience and social adaptability. It also suggests that in practical interventions, attention must be paid to the manner and extent of emotional support provided to avoid potential negative impacts.

In summary, emotional warmth parenting style exerts a comprehensive impact on reducing the risk of children experiencing bullying in school through multiple mechanisms. Although the direct path shows a positive correlation, the overall effect of emotional warmth parenting style remains protective by enhancing social support and cognitive reappraisal abilities. This finding suggests that while providing emotional support, parents should be mindful of the methods and extent of their emotional expressions to avoid excessive intervention and control, thereby promoting children’s autonomy and independence to more effectively prevent and reduce bullying incidents.

The impact of overprotective parenting style

The results of this study indicate that overprotective parenting style negatively predicts children’s social support and cognitive reappraisal abilities while positively predicting the bullying children experience in school. This finding is highly consistent with existing literature, further validating the negative impact of overprotective parenting style on children’s psychological and social development [9]. Lack of Social Skills: Overprotective parents often restrict children’s autonomous activities and social opportunities, leading to a lack of necessary social skills and self-confidence [9]. When facing bullying, these children, due to their lack of effective coping strategies and social support, are more likely to become victims [10]. Low Self-Efficacy: Overprotective parenting style undermines children’s autonomy and independence, resulting in a lack of self-efficacy when facing challenges [10]. Low self-efficacy makes children more prone to feelings of helplessness and anxiety when confronted with bullying, increasing the risk of being bullied [9]. Strained Parent-Child Relationships: Overprotective parenting may lead to strained parent-child relationships and a lack of trust [14]. Such strained relationships make children less willing to seek help from their parents when experiencing bullying, further exacerbating the negative impacts of bullying [20]. Mental Health Issues: Overprotective parenting style is positively correlated with children’s mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. These psychological issues may lead children to exhibit more negative behaviors and emotional responses in school, increasing the likelihood of being bullied [24].

In summary, overprotective parenting style exerts a comprehensive negative impact on increasing the risk of children experiencing bullying in school through multiple mechanisms. This result emphasizes the importance of parents maintaining appropriate levels of care and support during the parenting process while granting children sufficient autonomy and independence. Parents should avoid excessive intervention, encourage children to think and solve problems independently, and enhance their self-efficacy and social skills to effectively reduce the risk of children experiencing bullying in school.

The role of social support and cognitive reappraisal in the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying

This study further explores the mediating roles of social support and cognitive reappraisal in the impact of parents’ emotional warmth parenting style and overprotective parenting style on children’s experiences of school bullying. The research findings indicate that social support and cognitive reappraisal play significant mediating roles in this relationship, specifically manifested as follows:

The mediating role of social support

Social support is confirmed in this study as a key mediating variable that explains how parenting styles influence the risk of children experiencing school bullying. Specifically, an emotional warmth parenting style indirectly reduces the likelihood of children being bullied by enhancing their sense of social support. This aligns with Cohen and Wills’ [15] buffering hypothesis of social support, which posits that adequate social support can effectively buffer individuals against the psychological burdens of facing stress and negative events.

The study found that an emotional warmth parenting style significantly enhances children’s levels of social support. This means that in a family environment characterized by emotional warmth, children are more likely to receive emotional and practical support from peers, teachers, and the community [11]. This support not only provides emotional consolation but also offers practical help and advice when children face school bullying, thereby strengthening their coping abilities [16]. Additionally, social support further reduces the risk of children becoming victims of bullying by enhancing their self-esteem and self-efficacy [12].

Conversely, an overprotective parenting style indirectly increases the risk of children experiencing school bullying by weakening their sense of social support. Overprotective parents often restrict their children’s autonomous activities and social opportunities, leading to narrower social networks and insufficient peer support [20]. This lack of social support makes it difficult for children to seek help and support when facing bullying, thereby increasing their psychological stress and the risk of being bullied [14].

The mediating role of cognitive reappraisal

Cognitive reappraisal, as a positive emotion regulation strategy, is also confirmed in this study as an important mediating variable. It explains how parenting styles influence the risk of children experiencing school bullying by affecting their emotion regulation abilities. Specifically, the enhancement of social support further improves children’s cognitive reappraisal abilities. In other words, social support provides children with more emotional and informational resources, helping them to more effectively engage in emotion regulation and cognitive reappraisal [16].

For parents with an emotional warmth parenting style, the study shows that it indirectly reduces the risk of children experiencing school bullying by enhancing both social support and cognitive reappraisal abilities. This chain-mediating effect indicates that an emotional warmth parenting style not only directly reduces bullying risk by increasing social support but also further strengthens children’s psychological resilience to bullying by improving their cognitive reappraisal abilities [11, 13].

Conversely, an overprotective parenting style indirectly increases the risk of children experiencing school bullying by weakening their cognitive reappraisal abilities. Overprotection limits children’s opportunities for independent thinking and emotion regulation, resulting in a lack of effective coping strategies when facing bullying and making them more prone to negative emotional reactions [9]. This deficiency in emotion regulation abilities not only increases children’s psychological stress but may also lead to maladaptive coping behaviors, such as avoidance or reliance on others, further exacerbating the risk of being bullied [24].

The chain-mediating role of social support and cognitive reappraisal

This study also found a significant positive relationship between social support and cognitive reappraisal, and that they jointly exert a chain-mediating effect. This means that an emotional warmth parenting style first enhances children’s sense of social support, which in turn improves their cognitive reappraisal abilities, ultimately reducing the risk of experiencing school bullying. This chain-mediating effect further emphasizes the bridging role of social support between emotional warmth parenting style and cognitive reappraisal ability [12].

Specifically, an emotional warmth parenting style expands children’s social networks and enhances their sense of social support, providing them with more emotional and informational resources that enable more effective cognitive reappraisal [12]. This chain-mediating effect indicates that social support not only directly influences children’s emotion regulation abilities but also promotes the use of positive cognitive reappraisal strategies, thereby further enhancing their ability to cope with bullying [16].

For an overprotective parenting style, the weakening of social support similarly restricts the acquisition of cognitive reappraisal resources, further exacerbating children’s negative emotional reactions and maladaptive coping behaviors when facing bullying [9]. This chain-mediating effect reveals how an overprotective parenting style indirectly increases the risk of children experiencing bullying by limiting social support and, consequently, impairing their emotion regulation abilities [24].

In summary, social support and cognitive reappraisal play significant mediating and chain-mediating roles in the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying. Understanding the mediating mechanisms of these two variables helps to elucidate how family and social environments jointly influence adolescents’ experiences of school bullying, providing a theoretical foundation for developing effective prevention and intervention strategies.

Limitations and future study

While this study provides valuable insights into the relationship between parenting styles and school bullying, several limitations should be acknowledged. First, the use of convenience sampling may limit the generalizability of the findings to broader populations. Future research should consider employing random sampling techniques to enhance the representativeness of the sample. Second, the cross-sectional design of this study restricts the ability to draw causal inferences. Longitudinal studies are recommended to better understand the temporal dynamics and causal relationships among parenting styles, social support, cognitive reappraisal, and school bullying. Third, the reliance on self-reported measures may introduce response biases, such as social desirability bias. Incorporating multiple sources of data, including reports from parents, teachers, and peers, could provide a more comprehensive assessment of the variables under investigation. Additionally, this study focused primarily on emotional warmth and overprotective parenting styles; future research could explore other parenting dimensions, such as authoritarian and permissive styles, to provide a more nuanced understanding of their impacts on school bullying. Finally, cultural factors specific to the Chinese context were considered, but comparative studies across different cultural settings would be beneficial to examine the universality and cultural specificity of the observed relationships.

Significance and implications of the study

The findings of this study hold significant value in the context of understanding school bullying, adolescent development, and the role of family dynamics. By exploring how emotional warmth and overprotective parenting styles influence adolescents’ experiences with school bullying through the mediating effects of social support and cognitive reappraisal, this study offers an innovative perspective on bullying prevention. These mediators provide a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms that explain how parenting styles impact bullying outcomes, especially within a cultural context that may differ from Western settings. Anther significant contributions of this study is its focus on the Chinese cultural context, where parenting styles and bullying experiences may differ from those observed in Western research. In China, emotional warmth may be expressed through actions rather than verbal communication, which may be interpreted differently by children and peers. This study sheds light on how these cultural differences affect children’s social interactions and experiences with bullying. By understanding the nuanced ways in which emotional warmth and overprotective parenting manifest in China, this study provides a unique lens to explore how family dynamics influence school bullying in a non-Western context.

The findings of this study have significant implications for educators, parents, and policymakers aiming to mitigate school bullying and promote healthy adolescent development. For educators, understanding the protective role of emotional warmth parenting can inform the development of school-based programs that foster positive parent-teacher relationships and encourage parental involvement in students’ social and emotional well-being. Schools can implement workshops and training sessions for parents to enhance their emotional support strategies and reduce overprotective behaviors. For parents, the study highlights the importance of balancing emotional warmth with the promotion of autonomy and independence in their children. By providing a supportive yet non-intrusive environment, parents can enhance their children’s social support networks and cognitive reappraisal abilities, thereby reducing the risk of bullying victimization. Policymakers should consider integrating family education components into anti-bullying initiatives, emphasizing the cultivation of supportive parenting practices and the reduction of overprotective tendencies. Additionally, policies that enhance social support structures within communities, such as after-school programs and peer support groups, can further bolster the resilience of adolescents against bullying.

Conclusion

This study highlights the complex relationship between parenting styles and school bullying, emphasizing the mediating roles of social support and cognitive reappraisal. It finds that emotional warmth parenting enhances children’s resilience by strengthening social support and cognitive reappraisal abilities, while overprotective parenting undermines these mediators, increasing bullying risks. The identification of a chain-mediating effect offers new insights into the mechanisms behind bullying outcomes. By situating this research within the Chinese cultural context, the study provides innovative contributions to the literature, emphasizing the importance of balanced, autonomy-supportive parenting practices and the strengthening of social support systems. These findings offer valuable guidance for developing culturally informed, effective bullying prevention strategies.