Relations Among Family, Peer, and Academic Stress and Adjustment in Chinese Adolescents: A Daily Diary Analysis

Family, peers, and academics are three central sources of stress for Chinese adolescents, which have potential negative implications for youth's adjustment. This study investigated how within-person fluctuations in daily domains of stress (i.e., family, peer, and academic) and between-person differences in average stress levels were associated with four Chinese adolescent adjustment indicators (i.e., positive and negative emotions, sleep quality, and subjective vitality). Participants included 315 Chinese adolescents (48.3% girls; M-age = 13.05 years, SD = 0.77 years) who completed a 10-day diary on each domain of stress and indicators of adjustment. Multilevel models revealed that peer stress had the most detrimental association with Chinese adolescents' adjustment at both within-person (i.e., higher same-day and next-day negative emotions) and between-person (i.e., higher negative emotions, worse sleep quality, and lower subjective vitality) levels. Academic stress was only significant at the between-person level, corresponding to worse sleep quality and increased levels of negative emotions. Family stress exhibited mixed associations and was positively associated with positive and negative emotions and subjective vitality. These findings underscore the need to examine the impact of multiple domains of stress on Chinese adolescent adjustment. Further, identification and intervention for adolescents with elevated peer stress may be particularly helpful for increasing healthy adjustment.