Effect of peer attachment and loneliness on self-esteem among children in rural area / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To study the effects of peer attachment and loneliness on self-esteem and to provide suggestions for the development of self-esteem among children in rural area.@*Methods@#A total of 1 009 fourth to sixth graders from ten primary schools in rural area of Sichuan and Henan Provinces participated in this longitudinal study. The self-esteem, peer attachment and loneliness were assessed at baseline, and the selfesteem was assessed after 9-month follow up.@*Results@#After controlling for age, gender, whether parents migrate to work in urban area and self-esteem, peer attachment( β =0.14)and loneliness at Time 1 ( β = -0.13 ) were found to significantly predict self-esteem at Time 2. In addition, the interaction between loneliness at Time 1 and peer attachment at Time 1 on self-esteem at Time 2 was significant( β =-0.08)( P <0.01). Specifically, the relation between peer attachment at Time 1 and selfesteem at Time 2 was greater when children had low level of loneliness at Time 1.@*Conclusion@#The findings indicated that initial low level of loneliness facilitates the protective effect of initial peer attachment on later self-esteem. It reminds parents and educators that both promoting children’s secure attachment towards peers and reducing children’s sense of loneliness are needed in order to develop children’s self-esteem in rural area.