Open research questions in Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth

What the literature leaves open

• There is a lack of understanding of the link between cumulative family risk and children's flourishing. Prior studies have not examined the mediating roles of teacher-student and peer relationships in this association. The current study aims to address this gap.

  Impact of cumulative family risk on Chinese primary school children’s flourishing: parallel mediating roles of teacher–student and peer relationships · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of research on the mechanisms underlying self-esteem development in adolescents. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating the roles of interpersonal self-support and school attachment in the relationship between family cohesion and self-esteem.

  Family cohesion and adolescent self-esteem: mediating effects of interpersonal self-support and moderating role of school attachment · 2026 · DOI

• The use of longitudinal research design may help build a causative relationship and conduct additional studies. The use of larger sample size is encouraged along with diversified subjects' age, educational background, and regional experience.

  A Perceived Emotional Neglect, Social Emotional Competence, and Interpersonal Dependency in Young Adults · 2026 · DOI

• The study notes that future research involving randomly drawn samples from each grade or a longitudinal design should help reconfirm the non-linear effect. The study acknowledges that the linear age effect commonly found with performance-based EF tasks was not supported in the current study.

  Establishing the Taiwanese Traditional Chinese version Teenage Executive Functioning Inventory (TC-TEXI): Psychometric properties of self-report, parent-rating, and teacher-rating and the predictability on positive mental health · 2026 · DOI

• The study suggests that future research involving randomly drawn samples from each grade or a longitudinal design should help reconfirm the non-linear effect. The study highlights the need for further research on the relationship between executive functioning and positive mental health.

  Establishing the Taiwanese Traditional Chinese version Teenage Executive Functioning Inventory (TC-TEXI): Psychometric properties of self-report, parent-rating, and teacher-rating and the predictability on positive mental health · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of research on the curvilinear relationship between maternal parenting stress and internalizing problems in adolescents. The study aims to address this gap by exploring the moderating effects of family socioeconomic status and adolescent gender on this relationship.

  The Curvilinear Relationship between Maternal-Parenting Stress and Adolescent Internalizing-Problems: Family Socioeconomic-Status and Adolescent Gender’s Moderating Roles · 2026 · DOI

• The underlying mechanisms of the relationship between teacher-student relationships and adolescent well-being are not well understood. The processual function of school belonging in shaping well-being is not clear.

  Examining Associations between Teacher–Student Relationships and Adolescent Well-Being: The Roles of School Belonging, Moral Disengagement, and Growth Mindset · 2026 · DOI

• Future studies can examine the longitudinal effects of Alpha-mom blog use on mothers' mental health. Future studies can explore the potential benefits and limitations of social media for mothers' mental health in different cultural contexts. Future studies can develop targeted interventions and support services for mothers based on the findings of this study.

  How Alpha-Mom Blog Use Enhances the Mental Health of Mothers of Young Children: From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory · 2026 · DOI

• The psychological mechanisms linking interpersonal disturbance to psychological security among left-behind children are not well understood. There is a need to explore the relationship between interpersonal disturbance and psychological security among left-behind children. The current study aims to address this research gap by examining the serial mediation effect of resilience and self-esteem.

  Interpersonal Disturbance and Psychological Security among China’s Left-Behind Children: The Serial Mediation Effect of Resilience and Self-Esteem · 2026 · DOI

• The mechanisms of depression among high school students are not well understood. The role of negative family representations, cognitive failure, and self-compassion in adolescent depression is not well explored.

  Longitudinal Association between Negative Family Representations and Depression in High School Students: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Failure and the Moderating Role of Self-Compassion · 2026 · DOI

• As an initial adaptation study, future research should examine measurement invariance across subgroups, assess temporal stability through longitudinal designs, and evaluate clinical utility, including sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off values.

  Adaptation and Validation of the Indonesian Version of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM) Among Primiparous Mothers Who Use Social Media · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of research on the impact of parenting styles on child development in rural Thailand. The study aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of parenting styles on cognitive and non-cognitive skills.

  Impact of parenting styles on cognitive and non-cognitive skills of young children: Evidence from rural Thailand · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of understanding of the relationship between post-traumatic stress, quality of life, and loneliness levels in adolescents after an earthquake. Prior research has not fully examined the factors that influence adolescents' loneliness levels and post-traumatic stress levels.

  Examination of Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction, Quality of Life, and Loneliness Levels in Adolescents Who Experienced an Earthquake · 2026 · DOI

• Insecure attachment styles are associated with social incompetence. Learners with social incompetence exhibit low self-esteem, antisocial behaviours, and poor emotional competence. There is a lack of understanding of the relationship between attachment styles and social incompetence.

  Social Incompetence of Learners with Insecure Attachment Styles: A Multiple Case Study of Three Secondary Schools in South Africa · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of understanding of the relationship between attachment styles and social incompetence. There is a need to investigate the experiences of learners with insecure attachment styles. There is a need to develop effective interventions to promote secure attachment styles and prevent social incompetence.

  Social Incompetence of Learners with Insecure Attachment Styles: A Multiple Case Study of Three Secondary Schools in South Africa · 2026 · DOI

• There is a need for a reliable and valid instrument to assess parental stress and satisfaction in the Hungarian population. Prior research has not fully examined the relationship between parental stress and various factors such as perceived stress, depression, life satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction.

  Assessing Parental Stress and Satisfaction: Validation of the Hungarian Version of the Parental Stress Scale · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should examine additional potential mediators, such as parental knowledge of child development, exposure to nature, or community safety perceptions. Incorporating observational measures of both risky play and parenting behaviors would strengthen future research.

  Preschool education as a bridge between parenting self-efficacy and risky play: A mediation analysis · 2026 · DOI

• Future studies may focus on item reduction analyses and the development of a short-form version of the scale. To further examine the structural relationships among the dimensions of the scale, studies based on structural equation modeling are also recommended.

  Parent–School Perception Scale: An Examination of Its Psychometric Properties · 2026 · DOI

• There is a need to understand the relationship between children's temperament and their adaptation to nursery. Prior research has not fully explored the factors that influence children's adaptation to nursery care.

  Temperamental Correlates and Predictors of Toddler Adaptation to Nursery · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should examine changes in teachers’ attributions over time and whether this helps explain children’s classroom experiences over similar periods.

  Associations Between Teacher Attributions and Stress with the Social Experiences of Students at Risk for ADHD and Peer Problems · 2026 · DOI

• The study had a limited sample size of 404 children. The study only included children from 16 ECEC institutions in Norway.

  Validation of the EQUAL Child measure as an indicator of children’s subjective well-being in ECEC · 2026 · DOI

• There is a need for a valid tool to measure children's subjective well-being in ECEC. Prior tools have limitations, such as being completed by adults rather than children themselves.

  Validation of the EQUAL Child measure as an indicator of children’s subjective well-being in ECEC · 2026 · DOI

• The results obtained from the study can be generalized to adolescents studying in related schools.

  Examination of Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction, Quality of Life, and Loneliness Levels in Adolescents Who Experienced an Earthquake · 2026 · DOI

• Investigating the mechanisms underlying self-esteem development in adolescents has significant practical implications, - Examining the implications of the measurement limitation of the interpersonal self-support subscale, - Future studies could explore the relationship between family cohesion and self-esteem in different cultural…

  Family cohesion and adolescent self-esteem: mediating effects of interpersonal self-support and moderating role of school attachment · 2026 · DOI

• Helikopter ebeveynlik ile anne-çocuk ilişkisi arasındaki ilişkiyi inceleyen çalışmalar sınırlıdır. Anne bekçiliği ve ebeveyn tükenmişliğinin aracı rolünü değerlendiren çalışmalar benöt.

  The Mediating Role of Maternal Gatekeeping and Parental Burnout in the Relationship Between Helicopter Parenting and Mother-Child Relationship · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth

• Reporting Structural Equation Modeling and Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results: A Review · The Journal of Educational Research · 2006 · 5,151 citations
• Personality Structure: Emergence of the Five-Factor Model · Annual Review of Psychology · 1990 · 4,209 citations
• Socioeconomic Status and Child Development · Annual Review of Psychology · 2002 · 3,936 citations
• A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. · Psychological Bulletin · 1994 · 3,861 citations
• The Determinants of Parenting: A Process Model · Child Development · 1984 · 3,763 citations
• Parenting style as context: An integrative model. · Psychological Bulletin · 1993 · 2,896 citations
• The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · 1987 · 2,880 citations
• The Perceived Competence Scale for Children · Child Development · 1982 · 2,390 citations
• Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and in families. · American Psychologist · 1993 · 2,285 citations
• Development during adolescence: The impact of stage€nvironment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and in families. · American Psychologist · 1993 · 2,285 citations

Most recent work

• Social stigma, internalised shame and psychological struggles in adopted adolescents: A mediated model · Adoption & Fostering · 2026
• A meta-analytical review of parent–child communication and children feeling caught between parents · Communication Monographs · 2026
• Caregiving, maternal burnout, and child dysregulation: Validating the Italian Caregiving Experiences Questionnaire · Family Relations · 2026
• Sex Differences in Mental Health among Korean Adolescents with Allergic Diseases · Sex- and Gender-Specific Biomedicine · 2026
• The Social Value of Sadness: A Pathway to Sympathy and Prosocial Behavior in Middle-Childhood · The Journal of Genetic Psychology · 2026
• Impact of parenting styles on cognitive and non-cognitive skills of young children: Evidence from rural Thailand · Review of Economics of the Household · 2026
• Legitimacy of parental authority in emerging adulthood: Effects of support, demands, and psychological control · Family Relations · 2026
• Examination of Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction, Quality of Life, and Loneliness Levels in Adolescents Who Experienced an Earthquake · Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma · 2026
• No Evidence for Associations Among Minimal Self Facets or with Attachment in Early Childhood: A Registered Report · Journal of Cognition and Development · 2026
• The Mediating Role of Demographic Factors on the Psychological Wellbeing of Parents with Down Syndrome Children · Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities · 2026

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