Associations between emotional warmth parenting style and academic anxiety among Chinese high school students

Drawing on the dual perspectives of family environment and individual features, this study aims to provide a new interpretation of the relationship between the emotional warmth parenting style and academic anxiety among Chinese high school students. Previous studies have explored the association between parenting styles and students' academic anxiety. However, insufficient attention has been given to the mechanisms and heterogeneity in the effects of emotional warmth parenting style on academic anxiety. Additionally, the impact of individual student characteristics on academic anxiety has been largely overlooked. This research was conducted using a sample of 2286 Chinese high school students, aged 14-19, who anonymously completed the Simplified Parenting Style Scale (S-EMBU-C), the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ), the Secondary School Students' Coping Styles Inventory (SSCSI), and the Academic Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (AASA). The findings revealed that: (1) emotional warmth parenting style significantly mitigates academic anxiety in high school students and fosters the development of healthy personalities; (2) self-concept and positive coping styles mediate the relationship between emotional warmth parenting style and students' academic anxiety; (3) emotional warmth parenting style indirectly reduces academic anxiety through the chained mediating effects of self-concept and positive coping style; (4) the protective impact of emotional warmth parenting style on academic anxiety varies depending on the number of children in the family: for an only child, this parenting style is more effective in reducing academic anxiety and enhancing mental health compared to families with multiple children. Based on these findings, the study discusses potential reasons for these outcomes and offers practical suggestions to help mitigate academic anxiety among high school students, providing guidance for Chinese families on adopting appropriate parenting styles during their children's high school years.