Social Support From Parents and Teachers and Adolescents' Subjective Well-Being: Mediating Effect of Cognitive Regulatory Learning and Academic Procrastination

Previous researchers have suggested the influence of parents' and teachers' social support on adolescents' subjective well-being (SWB) without addressing the possible role of the academic process. In this longitudinal study we constructed a chain-mediated model to examine whether cognitive regulatory learning (i.e., cognitive focusing and metacognition) and academic procrastination mediated the relationships between parents' and teachers' social support and adolescents' SWB. A total of 453 Chinese adolescents (M age = 13.87, SD = 1.75) completed surveys at four time points. Results from the chain-mediated model showed that (a) parents' social support at Time 1 was directly and indirectly linked to adolescents' SWB at Time 4, whereas teachers' social support at Time 1 was indirectly linked to adolescents' SWB at Time 4; (b) metacognition at Time 2 separately mediated the associations of parents' and teachers' social support at time1 and SWB at Time 4; and (c) cognitive focusing at Time 2 and academic procrastination at Time 3 fully chain mediated the link between teachers' social support at Time1 and SWB at Time 4. A discussion and outline of the path from parents' and teachers' social support to the effect they had on adolescents' SWB provide important practical guidance for improving adolescents' psychological well-being.