From Warmth to Well-Being: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Study of Parental Emotional Warmth, Psychological Capital, and Social Anxiety in Chinese Emerging Adults

From Warmth to Well-Being: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Study of Parental Emotional Warmth, Psychological Capital, and Social Anxiety in Chinese Emerging Adults | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article From Warmth to Well-Being: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Study of Parental Emotional Warmth, Psychological Capital, and Social Anxiety in Chinese Emerging Adults Qianyi Wan, Siqing Wen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8044731/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background This longitudinal study explores the relationships between parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety in Chinese emerging adults, with a focus on the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating effects of gender and leadership role. The study aims to investigate how these factors evolve over time and interact with one another. Methods A sample of 552 Chinese emerging adults (ages 18–24) participated in this study, with data collected across three time points (T1, T2, T3). Parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety were assessed using well-established scales. PROCESS macro was employed to conduct regression analyses, testing the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety, while also examining the moderating effects of gender and leadership role. Results The findings indicate that parental emotional warmth has a significant and negative impact on social anxiety over time. Psychological capital partially mediates the longitudinal relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety. Gender and leadership role were found to moderate this relationship, with male emerging adults showing a stronger positive association between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital compared to female emerging adults, particularly at earlier time points. Furthermore, leadership role also moderated the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Conclusions This study enhances our understanding of the long-term impact of parental emotional warmth on social anxiety through psychological capital, with gender and leadership status (i.e., class monitor role) acting as significant moderators. The findings emphasize the importance of fostering psychological capital and emotional warmth as potential strategies for alleviating social anxiety over time. The study provides valuable insights for families and youth development practitioners on creating supportive environments to promote psychological well-being. Emerging Adults Parental Emotional Warmth Social Anxiety Psychological Capital Mediation Effect Gender Leadership Role Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Introduction Social anxiety is one of the most prevalent psychological difficulties in emerging adulthood, typically characterized by an intense fear of negative evaluation and avoidance of social situations (Zhang et al., 2023 ). Recent meta-analyses have shown that approximately one in three young adults worldwide experiences clinically significant symptoms of social anxiety (Salari et al., 2024 ; Jefferies, Ungar, & McGrath, 2020 ). These social symptoms not only impair interpersonal functioning but also hinder emotional and occupational development during the transition to adulthood (Patel et al., 2024 ). From a developmental perspective, parental emotional warmth defined as parental behaviors that convey affection, empathy, and consistent support has been identified as a key protective factor for socioemotional adjustment (Kessler et al., 2017 ). Drawing on Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002), emotionally warm parenting helps children internalize adaptive emotional coping and social confidence, thereby reducing vulnerability to social anxiety. Longitudinal research has further demonstrated that such early emotional climates continue to shape attachment security, social competence, and emotional maturity well into emerging adulthood (Choe, Lee, & Read, 2021 ). Building upon this theoretical framework, the present study investigates how parental emotional warmth contributes to social anxiety through the mediating role of psychological capital a multidimensional construct that encompasses hope, resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy (Luthans et al., 2007 ). Moreover, the study explores the moderating effects of gender and leadership role (e.g., serving as a class monitor), two contextual factors that recent developmental and leadership research highlight as central to emotion regulation and self-concept formation during early adulthood (Park et al., 2020 ; Branje et al., 2021 ; Walker et al., 2024 ). Despite growing evidence linking parenting and anxiety, the long-term mechanisms through which parental emotional warmth shapes social anxiety in emerging adulthood remain insufficiently understood. Guided by this framework, the present study proposes a longitudinal moderated mediation model to elucidate how early emotional experiences are translated into enduring psychological strengths that buffer against social anxiety. By doing so, the study aims to advance developmental and educational psychology by offering an empirically grounded model linking emotional warmth, psychological capital, and key contextual factors such as gender and leadership experience. Present study Emotion regulation, as proposed by Gross (2002), refers to the processes by which individuals influence the emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them. Effective emotion regulation enables individuals to manage stress, maintain psychological balance, and adapt to social environments. Within the family context, parents play a crucial role in shaping children’s emotion regulation abilities through emotional modeling and responsive caregiving. Emotion regulation theory further explains how emotional processes influence social behavior and anxiety (James & Gross, 2002 ). Parental emotional warmth (PEW), characterized by empathy, support, and emotional responsiveness creates a secure and nurturing emotional environment that promotes the development of adaptive emotion regulation strategies (e.g., cognitive reappraisal, emotional awareness, and positive coping). Through repeated positive emotional exchanges, children gradually internalize these regulatory patterns, which strengthen psychological resilience and decrease vulnerability to anxiety. From the perspective of Emotion Regulation Theory, parental emotional warmth therefore functions as a protective emotional climate that fosters effective emotion regulation and, in turn, mitigates social anxiety in emerging adulthood (Li et al., 2024 ; Pan et al., 2024 ). In this study, PEW is conceptualized as an early family based emotional resource that shapes the development of emotion regulation and contributes to positive psychological outcomes over time. Building on this theoretical foundation, the present study employs Emotion Regulation Theory to elucidate how parental emotional warmth cultivates psychological capital and subsequently alleviates social anxiety across developmental stages. Recent studies have emphasized the importance of the family environment in influencing social anxiety (Howard et al., 2025 ). Research has identified several key factors affecting social anxiety, such as parental emotional warmth and individual differences in emotional regulation (Butterfield et al., 2021 ; Jensen, 2024 ). Zhang et al. ( 2024 ) found that parental emotional warmth significantly and negatively predicts social anxiety, indicating that higher emotional warmth results in lower levels of anxiety. This finding is consistent with the stress-buffering hypothesis, which suggests that social support reduces the negative effects of stress on anxiety (Sheldon et al., 1985 ). Butterfield et al. ( 2021 ) also found that emotional warmth predicts lower levels of adolescent anxiety. Moreover, insufficient emotional warmth has been linked to increased academic anxiety and depression. Collectively, these findings suggest that parental emotional warmth plays a crucial role in mitigating social anxiety by enhancing individuals’ emotion regulation capacity, as proposed by Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002). Therefore, Hypothesis 1 posits that parental emotional warmth has a significant negative effect on social anxiety among emerging adults. Psychological capital (PsyCap) is defined as a positive psychological state of development characterized by hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (Luthans et al., 2006 ; Luthans et al., 2007 ). Warm, supportive parenting appears to be an important contextual source of these positive psychological resources. For example, higher parental warmth predicts higher self-efficacy in children, and self-efficacy partially mediates the link between parental warmth and adaptive learning attitudes, suggesting that emotionally warm parenting helps cultivate core components of psychological capital (Liu et al., 2024 ). Longitudinal evidence further shows that parental warmth and affection during early adolescence predicts fewer later internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression), in part because warmer parenting fosters healthier emotion regulation strategies in youth (Boullion et al., 2023 ). Psychological capital itself hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism has been linked to better mental health outcomes, including lower anxiety and depression, and can buffer the impact of stress on psychological distress (Xu et al., 2022 ; Song & Song, 2021 ). Taken together, these findings support the hypothesis that parental emotional warmth enhances youths’ psychological capital, which in turn may mediate the protective effect of parental warmth on social anxiety. Therefore, Hypothesis 2 : Parental emotional warmth has a significant positive impact on psychological capital. Hence, Hypothesis 3 : Psychological capital mediates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety. Gender socialization theory posits that individuals’ emotional behaviors are shaped by sociocultural norms and expectations, resulting in gender-specific patterns of emotional expression and social interaction (Chaplin, 2015 ). Women tend to value emotional connectedness and display greater emotional expressiveness in interpersonal contexts, whereas men are more likely to emphasize autonomy and self-reliance (Chaplin, 2015 ). These differences suggest that males and females may exhibit distinct emotional and behavioral responses to interpersonal stressors. Empirical evidence supports this view: large-scale epidemiological data indicate that adolescent girls report substantially higher levels of social anxiety symptoms than boys (Ranta et al., 2024 ). Beyond gender, leadership experience in school settings may also shape adolescents’ emotional regulation and coping strategies. Students in leadership or representative roles (e.g., class monitors) are often expected to manage peer relationships, meet teacher expectations, and absorb responsibility for group functioning. Such roles can foster resilience by requiring ongoing emotional management under pressure, but they may also elevate stress and role strain due to increased accountability and visibility (Ertem, 2024 ). These contextual factors may therefore moderate the influence of parental emotional warmth on adolescents’ psychological capital and social anxiety. Accordingly, this study hypothesizes that both gender and class monitor status moderate the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Hypothesis 4 Gender and class monitor status jointly moderate the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Building upon both Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002) and Psychological Capital Theory (Luthans et al., 2007 ), the present study proposes an integrative framework explaining how parental emotional warmth reduces social anxiety among emerging adults. From the perspective of Emotion Regulation Theory, parental emotional warmth provides an emotionally secure environment that fosters the development of adaptive regulatory strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and emotional acceptance thereby minimizing maladaptive responses to social threats. Over time, these adaptive regulation patterns contribute to the accumulation of internal psychological resources. While Emotion Regulation Theory and Psychological Capital Theory offer the conceptual foundations, the dynamic mechanism linking them can be further clarified by Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory (2001). According to this framework, positive emotions such as warmth, gratitude, and security broaden individuals’ momentary thought–action repertoires and promote the building of enduring personal resources, including resilience and optimism. Within the family context, parental emotional warmth generates repeated experiences of safety and positive affect, which expand children’s emotional repertoires and enhance their coping flexibility. These broadened emotional and cognitive patterns gradually accumulate into psychological capital a reservoir of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism that supports mental health and mitigates social anxiety. Thus, the emotional climate created by warm parenting not only regulates immediate affective responses but also initiates an upward spiral of psychological growth. In summary, this dynamic process bridges short term emotional regulation with long-term psychological resource development, providing a comprehensive explanation of how parental emotional warmth translates into reduced social anxiety in emerging adulthood. Although an extensive body of research has demonstrated that parental emotional warmth functions as a protective factor against social anxiety (Butterfield et al., 2021 ; Katsantonis et al., 2024 ), most existing studies are cross-sectional, thereby constraining causal inference and limiting our understanding of developmental trajectories. Furthermore, previous investigations have typically examined parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety as independent constructs rather than integrating them within a unified theoretical framework (Gross, 2002; Luthans et al., 2007 ). Consequently, the dynamic mechanisms through which parental emotional warmth fosters psychological resources and, in turn, alleviates social anxiety remain insufficiently understood. Beyond these methodological limitations, notable theoretical and cultural gaps persist. While Western research has underscored the importance of parental warmth in promoting emotional well-being (Ranta et al., 2024 ), few studies have explored how this relationship unfolds within collectivist societies such as China, where familial interdependence, filial obligations, and relational harmony may shape the psychological meaning of parental warmth (Zhang et al., 2024 ). In addition, the potential influence of leadership role status such as serving as a class monitor has been largely overlooked, despite its relevance to social responsibility, self-efficacy, and identity development during emerging adulthood (Ertem, 2024 ). To address these gaps, the present study advances the literature in three significant ways. First, it employs a three-wave longitudinal design to establish temporal precedence and strengthen causal interpretations of the relationships among parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety. Second, it develops and empirically tests a moderated mediation model that simultaneously considers gender and leadership role as contextual moderators, thereby offering a more nuanced understanding of individual and situational differences (Tsarpalis-Fragkoulidis et al., 2022 ). Third, by situating the investigation within the Chinese cultural context, the study extends emotion-regulation and psychological-capital theories to a non-Western setting (Gross, 2002; Luthans et al., 2007 ), thereby enriching cross-cultural perspectives on the developmental foundations of social anxiety in emerging adulthood. Together, these contributions provide a contextually grounded and theoretically integrative explanation of how parental emotional warmth promotes adaptive psychological development and mitigates social anxiety among emerging adults. Method Research Framework The purpose of this study is to examine the longitudinal relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety in Chinese emerging adults, with psychological capital as a mediator and gender and class monitor status as moderators. The study aims to explore how parental emotional warmth influences social anxiety, the mediating role of psychological capital, and the moderating effects of gender and class monitor status. We will employ a three-wave longitudinal design (Fig. 1 ). To achieve these aims, we first investigate the relationships among parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety. Next, we examine a moderated mediation model with two objectives: (1) to explore whether psychological capital mediates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety, and (2) to determine whether gender and class monitor status moderate the indirect relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety via psychological capital. Research Participants This study involved three waves of data collection, with participants being emerging adults (university students) from Sichuan Province and Chongqing City. A total of 552 participants took part in at least one wave of the survey. Specifically, 323 participants completed the first wave (Time 1, T1; March 2024), 442 completed the second wave (Time 2, T2; September 2024), and 376 completed the third wave (Time 3, T3; March 2025). After matching across the three waves, 376 participants provided complete data for all three time points, which constituted the final longitudinal sample used for analysis. Attrition analyses showed no significant differences in key baseline variables (parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety) between participants who remained in the study and those who dropped out (|t| .05, Cohen’s d < .15), suggesting that attrition was random and did not bias the results. The study hypothesizes that parental emotional warmth measured at Time 1 (T1) influences social anxiety at Time 3 (T3) through the mediating effect of psychological capital assessed at Time 2 (T2). Accordingly, T1 parental emotional warmth serves as the independent variable, T2 psychological capital functions as the mediator, and T3 social anxiety represents the dependent variable. This temporal structure enables the examination of causal pathways across three distinct time points. Measuring parental emotional warmth at T1 captures early family emotional support that theoretically precedes the development of psychological capital. Psychological capital at T2 then reflects the accumulation of positive psychological resources derived from earlier emotional experiences and is expected to predict social anxiety at T3. This causal ordering aligns with Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002) and Psychological Capital Theory (Luthans et al., 2007 ), which together suggest that parental emotional warmth fosters psychological capital, thereby reducing later social anxiety. Selecting T1, T2, and T3 as measurement points allows for a longitudinal test of this theoretical model and strengthens causal interpretation by establishing temporal precedence. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the first author’s university. Following the establishment of the study design and ethical approval, the measurement instruments for each variable were administered as described below. Parental Emotional Warmth This study adopted the Parental Rearing Style Scale developed by Jiang et al. ( 2010 ), focusing on the emotional warmth subscale. The instrument consists of 14 items, including seven items each for fathers and mothers. Responses were rated on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“Never”) to 4 (“Always”), with higher scores indicating greater perceived emotional warmth. The internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α) for the emotional warmth subscale was 0.84 at Time 1 (T1), 0.87 at Time 2 (T2), and 0.89 at Time 3 (T3), demonstrating satisfactory reliability across all three waves. Social Anxiety The study used the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) developed by Fergus et al. ( 2015 ) from the University of Southwestern Wales, Australia. The scale consists of 19 items, with responses scored using a Likert-type five-point scale, ranging from 1 to 5 (i.e., "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"). A higher score indicates more pronounced symptoms of social anxiety. In this study, the Cronbach’s α coefficients for the three waves were 0.91 (T1), 0.85 (T2), and 0.88 (T3), respectively. Psychological Capital This study used the University Students' Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire, developed by Zhang et al. ( 2010 ), specifically designed for Chinese university students (applied here to emerging adults). The original questionnaire contains 24 items across four dimensions: self-efficacy, resilience, hope, and optimism. A Likert-type seven-point scale was used, ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree," with scores ranging from 0 to 7. Higher scores indicate higher levels of psychological capital. In this study, the Cronbach’s α coefficients for the three time points were 0.88 (T1), 0.89 (T2), and 0.82 (T3), respectively. Control Variable In this study, gender and class monitor status were treated as moderator variables to explore their roles in moderating the effect of parental emotional warmth on emerging adults' psychological capital. Gender and class monitor status may affect the moderating effect of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital because both involve individual differences in social interaction, responsibility, and emotional responses. Gender as a moderator may influence the mechanisms through which parental emotional warmth affects psychological capital. Males and females often exhibit differences in emotional expression, social interaction, and coping strategies. Research indicates that females may be more sensitive to emotional support and social connections, so parental emotional warmth may have a stronger positive impact on the psychological capital of female emerging adults (e.g., self-efficacy, hope, resilience) (Del Pino & Matud, 2024 ). In contrast, males may be more reserved in emotional regulation and expression, and thus, the impact of parental emotional warmth on their psychological capital may follow a different pattern. Treating gender as a moderator helps to reveal the differentiated impact of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital across different genders and further understand the role of gender in the development of psychological capital. Class monitor status, as a role involving leadership responsibilities, may also play a moderating role in the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Class monitors typically assume greater social responsibilities and tasks, requiring stronger social skills, emotional management, and decision-making abilities. With parental emotional warmth, class monitors may show higher levels of psychological capital, especially in self-efficacy and resilience, because their leadership roles may make them more dependent on emotional support to cope with pressure and challenges (Liu, Bian & Bian, 2024 ). Non-class monitors, while also receiving parental emotional warmth, may not experience the same level of psychological capital development due to the differences in roles. Therefore, whether or not one is a class monitor may moderate the effect of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital, influencing emerging adults' psychological resources in the face of social challenges. Statistical Analyses First, this study calculated the descriptive statistics for all study variables and conducted Pearson correlation analysis to explore the relationships among these variables. Second, this study used the PROCESS macro (Model 4) (Hayes, 2017 ) to examine the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety. Third, this study applied the PROCESS macro (Model 9) (Hayes, 2017 ) to test whether gender and class monitor status moderate the indirect relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. To ensure the reliability of the results, bias-corrected percentile bootstrap with 5000 samples was used to assess the significance of the indirect effects. A 95% confidence interval (95% CI) that does not include zero indicates statistical significance at the 0.05 level. Prior to the analysis, this study standardized all variables and included T1 gender and class monitor status as control variables in the model. Reliability and Validity Checks Before conducting the main analyses, the reliability and validity of all key measures were examined. All scales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α values ranging from .82 to .91 across the three measurement waves. To further assess temporal stability, test–retest correlations were calculated between adjacent waves, which indicated acceptable cross-time reliability (r = .74–.83, p < .001). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were also conducted for each construct at three time points, showing good model fit (χ²/df .90, TLI > .90, RMSEA < .08). These results suggest that the measurement structures of parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety were stable and invariant across the three waves, thereby ensuring the robustness of the subsequent longitudinal analyses. To assess potential common method bias, Harman’s single-factor test was conducted using all items from the key constructs (parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety). The results indicated that the first unrotated factor accounted for 29.6% of the total variance, which is below the critical threshold of 40%, suggesting that common method bias is unlikely to be a serious concern in the present study. Moreover, although all measures were self-reported, data were collected at three distinct time points over one year, and this longitudinal, time-lagged design further mitigates the risk of inflated relationships due to same-source bias. Although all measures were self-reported, data were collected at three distinct time points over one year. This longitudinal, time-lagged design helps reduce the risk of inflated relationships due to same-source bias. Results Descriptive Statistics The descriptive statistics and graphs for father’s emotional warmth (F_PEW, T1), mother’s emotional warmth (M_PEW, T1), social anxiety (SA, T3), and psychological capital (PC, T2) are shown in Table 1 . The correlation analysis reveals that parental emotional warmth (T1) is significantly negatively correlated with social anxiety (T3). The correlation coefficients are: for F_PEW, r = -0.305 (p < 0.001), and for M_PEW, r = -0.296 (p < 0.001). Parental emotional warmth (T1) is significantly positively correlated with psychological capital (T2). The correlation coefficients are: for F_PEW, r = 0.474 (p < 0.001), and for M_PEW, r = 0.487 (p < 0.001). Psychological capital (T2) is significantly negatively correlated with social anxiety (T3), with a correlation coefficient of r = -0.359 (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the absolute values of the correlation coefficients between all pairs of variables were found to be less than 0.8, suggesting no issues with multicollinearity (Cohen et al., 2009 ). Table 1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 1. T1 F_PEW 2.952 .722 1 2. T1 M_PEW 3.068 .706 .855*** 1 3. T3 S A 2.431 .834 − .305*** − .296*** 1 4. T2 P C 4.897 .834 .474*** .487*** − .359*** 1 Note: F_PEW = Father’s Emotional Warmth; M_PEW = Mother’s Emotional Warmth; SA = Social Anxiety; PC = Psychological Capital; N = 552; ***p < .001. As shown in Fig. 2 , the violin plots further illustrate the gender-based distributions of the key variables. Male emerging adults reported slightly higher levels of psychological capital (T2) and lower levels of social anxiety (T3) compared with females, while no substantial gender difference was observed in parental emotional warmth (T1). These visual patterns are consistent with the correlation results in Table 1 , where parental emotional warmth was positively related to psychological capital and negatively related to social anxiety. The gender‐specific distributions provide an intuitive overview of how these constructs vary across male and female participants before testing the mediation and moderation hypotheses. As illustrated in Fig. 3 , a three-dimensional scatter plot was constructed to visualize the interrelationships among parental emotional warmth (T1), psychological capital (T2), and social anxiety (T3) across gender. The plot reveals a clear trend whereby individuals with higher levels of parental emotional warmth tend to report greater psychological capital and lower social anxiety. Although this overall pattern is consistent across genders, male participants appear to cluster more densely within the higher range of psychological capital compared with female participants. This visualization provides an intuitive depiction of the associations observed in Table 1 and lends visual support to the proposed mediation hypothesis, suggesting that psychological capital partially mediates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety. Mediating Effect The mediating role of psychological capital (T2) was examined using Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Table 2 ) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Results are reported in Table 2 . The mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples (see Table 2 ). Parental emotional warmth at Time 1 (T1) significantly and negatively predicted social anxiety at Time 3 (T3), β = − 0.294, p < .001, consistent with Hypothesis 1 . Parental emotional warmth (T1) also positively predicted psychological capital at Time 2 (T2), β = 0.531, p < .001, supporting Hypothesis 2 . When psychological capital (T2) was included as a mediator, it was inversely associated with social anxiety (T3), β = − 0.116, p < .001. The direct effect of parental emotional warmth (T1) on social anxiety (T3) decreased but remained significant, β = − 0.167, p < .001, indicating partial mediation and supporting Hypothesis 3. Bootstrapping analyses further confirmed a significant indirect effect of parental emotional warmth (T1) on social anxiety (T3) via psychological capital (T2), β = − 0.127, SE = 0.034, 95% CI [–0.197, − 0.063]. Both the direct effect, β = − 0.167, 95% CI [–0.251, − 0.083], and the total effect, β = − 0.294, 95% CI [–0.369, − 0.219], were significant. The indirect pathway accounted for approximately 43% of the total effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that parental emotional warmth (T1) alleviates social anxiety (T3) not only directly but also indirectly by enhancing psychological capital (T2). Table 2 Testing the mediation model of social anxiety predictor β SE T P 95% CI [LL,UL] X(T1)→Y(T3) total effect(C) -0.294*** 0.038 -7.71 <.001 [ -0.369, -0.219 ] X(T1)→M(T2)(a path) 0.531*** 0.039 13.51 <.001 [ 0.454, 0.608 ] X(T1)→Y(T3) direct effect(c′) -0.167*** 0.043 -3.91 <.001 [ -0.251, -0.083 ] M(T2)→Y(T3)(b path) -0.116*** 0.040 -5.95 <.001 [ -0.319, -0.161 ] Indirect effect(a×b) -0.127*** 0.034 <.001 [ -0.197, -0.063 ] Note. β = standardized coefficients; SE = standard error; t = t statistic; ***p < .001. Moderating Effect To test whether gender moderates the relationship in the first half of the mediation model, Hayes’s PROCESS Model 9 was used (N = 376). As shown in Table 3 , parental emotional warmth (T1) significantly and positively predicted psychological capital (T2), β = 0.510, SE = 0.050, t = 10.30, p < .001, 95% CI [0.412, 0.607]. The interaction term between parental emotional warmth (T1) and gender significantly predicted psychological capital (T2), β = − 0.249, SE = 0.114, t = − 2.18, p = .030, 95% CI [–0.473, − 0.025], indicating that gender moderates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Similarly, the interaction between parental emotional warmth (T1) and class monitor status was also significant, β = 0.221, SE = 0.107, t = 2.06, p = .040, 95% CI [0.010, 0.431]. In the second stage of the model, psychological capital (T2) significantly predicted social anxiety (T3), β = − 0.240, SE = 0.069, t = − 3.47, p < .001, while parental emotional warmth (T1) continued to exert a direct negative effect, β = − 0.167, SE = 0.049, t = − 3.39, p < .001. Bootstrapping analyses revealed significant conditional indirect effects of parental emotional warmth (T1) on social anxiety (T3) via psychological capital (T2) across gender and class monitor groups (see Table 3 ). Specifically, the indirect effect was stronger for males than for females, and for those without class monitor status compared to those with such status. This indicates that both gender and class monitor status moderate the indirect pathway linking parental emotional warmth to social anxiety through psychological capital. Table 3 illustrates the conditional effects of parental emotional warmth (T1) on psychological capital (T2) by gender and class monitor status. The regression slopes differ across subgroups, indicating that the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital varies depending on these moderators. This finding supports Hypothesis 4 . Table 3 Results of moderated mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 9,N = 552) Path/Effect β SE T P [LL, UL] First stage (X→M) PEW→ PC 0.510*** 0.050 10.30 <.001 [0.412, 0.607] PEW × Gender -0.249 0.114 -2.18 = .030 [-0.473, -0.025] PEW × CM 0.221 0.107 2.06 = .040 [0.010, 0.431] Second stage(M,X→Y) PEW → SA(direct c′) -0.167*** 0.049 -3.39 <.001 [-0.264, -0.070] PC → SA -0.240*** 0.069 -3.47 <.001 [-0.375, -0.104] Conditional indirect effects(PEW→PC→SA) Gender = Male,class monitor = Yes -0.498*** 0.039 [-0.205, -0.051] Gender = Male,class monitor = No -0.718*** 0.044 [-0.261, -0.087] Gender = Female,class monitor = Yes -0.248*** 0.031 [-0.133, -0.011] Gender = Female,class monitor = No -0.469*** 0.035 [-0.186, -0.051] Moderated Mediation Indices: PEW × Gender and Class Monitor Gender 0.060 0.026 [0.009, 0.111] class monitor -0.053*** 0.027 [-0.108, -0.005] Note. β = standardized coefficients; SE = standard error; t = t statistic; *p < .05, ***p < .001. Figure 4 presents the conditional effects of Parental Emotional Warmth (PEW, T1) on Psychological Capital (PC, T2), moderated by Gender (T1) and Class Monitor (CM, T1) status. As shown, the regression slopes differ substantially across groups. For males, the association between PEW and PC was stronger (β = 0.63, p < .001) than for females (β = 0.41, p = .012). Similarly, non-class monitors exhibited a steeper positive slope (β = 0.59, p < .001) compared with class monitors (β = 0.35, p = .028). A simple slope analysis confirmed that both Gender and Class Monitor status significantly moderated the first-stage path of the mediation model. Specifically, the effect of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital was most pronounced among male non-class monitors and least pronounced among female class monitors. The moderated mediation index was statistically significant for Gender (Index = 0.060, SE = 0.026, 95% CI [0.009, 0.111]) and for Class Monitor status (Index = − 0.053, SE = 0.027, 95% CI [–0.108, − 0.005]). These results provide empirical support for the conditional indirect effects reported in Table 3 , indicating that both Gender and Class Monitor status shape the developmental mechanism through which parental emotional warmth enhances psychological capital and, in turn, reduces social anxiety. The moderating effects of gender and leadership role observed in this study warrant deeper interpretation. From a gendered emotional socialization perspective, males may internalize parental emotional warmth as a source of self-efficacy and resilience, whereas females socialized to value interpersonal connectedness may experience warmth primarily as relational reassurance rather than as a direct driver of psychological capital. This distinction could explain the stronger mediating pathway found among males. Similarly, the finding that non-class monitors benefited more from parental emotional warmth than class monitors can be understood through the resource substitution hypothesis. Student leaders typically possess richer social resources, peer recognition, and self-efficacy derived from their leadership roles, which may buffer or dilute the incremental impact of parental warmth. In contrast, non-leaders may depend more heavily on family emotional support to build internal psychological resources, resulting in a stronger association between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Together, these interpretations highlight the importance of considering gendered emotional socialization and role-based contextual factors when examining the developmental processes linking family emotional climate and psychological well-being. Discussion The present three-wave longitudinal investigation sought to elucidate the developmental processes through which parental emotional warmth shapes social anxiety among Chinese emerging adults, with particular attention paid to the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating influences of gender and leadership role. Taken together, the findings lend robust support to the hypothesized model and suggest that early emotional environments within the family may initiate a cascade of psychological processes that exert long-lasting effects on socioemotional functioning (Howard et al., 2025 ). At the same time, the results highlight culturally shaped nuances in how these mechanisms unfold, underscoring the importance of embedding developmental inquiry within specific sociocultural contexts. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, parental emotional warmth was found to significantly and negatively predict social anxiety over time. This longitudinal association reinforces the extensive body of evidence demonstrating that warm, responsive, and emotionally supportive parenting contributes to more adaptive emotion regulation capacities, greater perceived security, and reduced vulnerability to internalizing problems (García et al., 2021 ). The present findings support the notion that when emerging adults have repeatedly experienced emotional availability, validation, and responsiveness from their parents, they are more likely to internalize stable emotional schemas characterized by trust, openness, and reduced threat reactivity. Such schemas may, in turn, serve as protective factors against cognitive patterns central to social anxiety, including heightened fear of negative evaluation, anticipatory worry, and social avoidance (Xu, Liu, & Zeng, 2022 ). Although the direction of associations aligns with findings from Western populations, the moderate effect size observed in the Chinese sample suggests that cultural norms emphasizing emotional restraint, relational harmony, and indirect communication may modulate how parental warmth is expressed, perceived, and integrated into the self-system, resulting in potentially attenuated but still meaningful effects. Aligned with Hypothesis 2, parental emotional warmth was positively associated with psychological capital, extending a substantial body of research demonstrating that supportive and cohesive family environments foster the development of positive psychological resources such as resilience, hope, optimism, and self-efficacy (Yu et al., 2021 ; Liu et al., 2024 ). Warm parenting may cultivate these resources by validating children’s emotional experiences, strengthening their sense of autonomy, and modeling adaptive strategies for managing stress and adversity. Notably, the current findings revealed a culturally meaningful pattern: optimism although a fundamental component of psychological capital was comparatively lower among participants than is typically documented in Western samples. This divergence may reflect culturally embedded tendencies toward moderate self-presentation, cautious expectation-setting, and dialectical thinking, which are characteristic of East Asian sociocultural contexts. Thus, while the overarching mechanism linking parental warmth to psychological capital may exhibit cross-cultural generality, the relative prominence of specific components such as optimism appears to be shaped by culturally situated meaning systems. As predicted in Hypothesis 3, psychological capital mediated the relationship between parental emotional warmth and later social anxiety. This mediating pathway provides strong support for Psychological Capital Theory, which posits that positive psychological resources function as internal buffers that protect individuals from emotional distress (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007 ). Emerging adults with higher levels of psychological capital may be better equipped to navigate interpersonal challenges with cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and a heightened sense of agency, thereby reducing the likelihood of developing maladaptive social cognitions or avoidance tendencies. Importantly, the longitudinal design of the present study enabled the identification of a temporal sequence in which parental emotional warmth precedes the development of psychological capital, which subsequently predicts changes in social anxiety. This temporal ordering strengthens causal inference and highlights the dynamic process through which early emotional environments shape later socioemotional functioning. Recent theoretical advancements further emphasize that family emotional climates play a foundational role in the development of emotion regulation capacities across the lifespan, thereby reinforcing the mechanisms identified in this study (Morris et al., 2023 ). Partial support emerged for Hypothesis 4 , which posited that gender and leadership role would moderate the association between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. The findings indicated that male emerging adults may exhibit heightened sensitivity to parental warmth in the development of psychological capital a pattern that may stem from gendered socialization practices emphasizing self-reliance, emotional restraint, and competence among males. In contrast, females may draw more extensively on broader relational networks such as peers and mentors when cultivating psychological resources, thereby diminishing the unique influence of parental warmth. Leadership experience, particularly service as a class monitor, also surfaced as a notable moderating factor. Within Chinese educational contexts, student leaders are typically entrusted with considerable social and administrative responsibilities and are expected to demonstrate interpersonal competence and emotional stability. These contextual demands may amplify the extent to which parental emotional warmth facilitates the development of psychological strengths by providing opportunities to translate emotional support into real-world competencies. Recent evidence further indicates that parental warmth promotes adolescents’ leadership emergence through both intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways, offering theoretical support for the moderating effect of leadership experience observed in the present study (Liu & Bian, 2024 ). Taken together, this culturally embedded moderation highlights the notion that developmental trajectories are jointly shaped by family dynamics and sociocultural role expectations. Taken together, the findings offer a multifaceted perspective on how familial emotional environments, internal psychological resources, and sociocultural factors converge to influence social anxiety during emerging adulthood. The study makes a theoretical contribution by integrating Emotion Regulation Theory and Psychological Capital Theory within a longitudinal developmental framework and demonstrating how early emotional inputs may contribute to enduring psychological outcomes. Moreover, the identification of gender and leadership role as contextual factors provides a more differentiated understanding of interindividual variability in these developmental pathways, emphasizing the need to consider how cultural norms and social roles shape the translation of familial experiences into internal psychological resources. The practical implications of these findings are manifold. Interventions aimed at enhancing warm parent–child communication and fostering emotionally supportive family environments may exert long term benefits by strengthening the psychological capital of emerging adults and mitigating social anxiety. At the educational level, programs designed to cultivate resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy such as group-based positive psychology interventions or skills based workshops may be particularly effective. The moderating roles of gender and leadership suggest that a one-size-fits-all approach may be insufficient; instead, tailored interventions that account for gendered patterns of socialization and role-specific demands may be more impactful. Universities can further support students by providing leadership development opportunities, socioemotional training, and peer-support structures that reinforce key psychological strengths. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of addressing family emotional climates, internal psychological resources, and broader sociocultural contexts as interconnected determinants of emotional well-being during the transition to adulthood. Limitations As with all empirical research, several limitations should be acknowledged. Although the three-wave longitudinal design strengthens temporal inference, the sample was drawn through convenience sampling from universities in Sichuan and Chongqing, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to emerging adults in other regions or cultural contexts. Participant attrition over time further reduced the number of individuals who completed all three waves of data collection. Future studies would benefit from larger, more diverse, and more representative samples. In addition, the gender distribution in the present sample was somewhat imbalanced, which may have influenced the moderating effects observed. More balanced sampling strategies in future research would help enhance the robustness of these findings. All variables in this study were measured using self-report questionnaires, which may introduce biases such as social desirability or recall inaccuracies. Although the temporal separation across measurement waves reduces the risk of common-method variance, future research could incorporate multi-informant or multi-method assessments for example, reports from parents or peers, behavioral observations, or physiological indicators to provide a more comprehensive understanding of parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety. Qualitative approaches, such as interviews, may also offer deeper insight into how emerging adults interpret parental emotional experiences and develop psychological resources over time. The analytical approach used in this study Hayes’s PROCESS macro relies on observed variables and does not account for measurement error or latent factors. More advanced techniques, such as structural equation modeling, latent growth modeling, or cross-lagged panel models, could more rigorously test the hypothesized relationships, assess measurement validity, and capture changes in key constructs over time. Employing these methods in future research may help further strengthen causal interpretations. Finally, the current model examined only two moderators’ gender and leadership role while other potentially influential contextual or individual factors were not included. Variables such as peer support, academic stress, socioeconomic background, or personality traits may also shape the development of psychological capital and social anxiety. Incorporating such factors or drawing on additional theoretical frameworks such as resilience theory or UTAUT based models, may allow future studies to construct a more comprehensive explanation of how parental emotional warmth contributes to socioemotional outcomes in emerging adulthood. Abbreviations PEW Parental Emotional Warmth PsyCap Psychological Capital SA Social Anxiety s-EMBU-C Short-form Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (Chinese version) SD Standard Deviation SE Standard Error CI Confidence Interval. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Sichuan University of Arts and Sciences. All participants provided informed consent prior to participation, and anonymity and confidentiality were strictly protected through full data anonymization. Consent for publication All participants consented to the publication of anonymized data obtained in this study. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding This research received no external funding. Author Contribution Qianyi Wan conceived and designed the study, conducted data collection, organization, and statistical analysis. Siqing Wen was responsible for data interpretation and provided critical revisions to the manuscript. The initial draft of the manuscript was jointly written by Qianyi Wan and Siqing Wen. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Acknowledgement We would like to thank all individuals who contributed to this work but do not meet the authorship criteria. We especially appreciate the valuable suggestions and support from colleagues during data collection and manuscript preparation. All acknowledged individuals have provided their permission to be mentioned. Data Availability The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to confidentiality restrictions but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. References Zhang Y, Chen J, Gao W, Chen W, Xiao Z, Qi Y, Turel O, He Q. From fears of evaluation to social anxiety: The longitudinal relationships of FNE, FPE, and SAD. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2023;23(2):100345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100345 . 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1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":105964,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResearch Framework\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceptual model of the moderated mediation of parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, gender, and class monitor status.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage119.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8044731/v1/17819dd1c4da89a041564742.jpeg"},{"id":96588531,"identity":"e9d268f4-26d1-4685-b584-801dfa375156","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-24 05:51:46","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":46681,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGender differences across key psychological constructs\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote：Violin plots illustrate score distributions of parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety for male and female participants.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8044731/v1/a8e30601e56ff83c45cb66bc.png"},{"id":96588533,"identity":"98e94d3c-f807-439f-aa3c-8c0cc7feadaf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-24 05:51:46","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":211646,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVisualization of Key Variables by Gender\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote：Three-dimensional scatter plot showing the relationships among parental emotional warmth (T1), psychological capital (T2), and social anxiety (T3) by gender.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8044731/v1/10a630cadee2d16e4e273819.png"},{"id":96588536,"identity":"48b0b662-ae8c-4642-b8cb-ca472eb430eb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-24 05:51:46","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":68979,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConditional Effects of Parental Emotional Warmth on Psychological Capital\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8044731/v1/9a966e7f97543b439ed73d91.png"},{"id":96608531,"identity":"927c17a0-5c45-4ad5-8316-0189a8ff34f1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-24 09:28:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1303351,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8044731/v1/1c2661f3-9924-4819-9cfb-c466f193798c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"From Warmth to Well-Being: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Study of Parental Emotional Warmth, Psychological Capital, and Social Anxiety in Chinese Emerging Adults","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eSocial anxiety is one of the most prevalent psychological difficulties in emerging adulthood, typically characterized by an intense fear of negative evaluation and avoidance of social situations (Zhang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Recent meta-analyses have shown that approximately one in three young adults worldwide experiences clinically significant symptoms of social anxiety (Salari et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Jefferies, Ungar, \u0026amp; McGrath, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). These social symptoms not only impair interpersonal functioning but also hinder emotional and occupational development during the transition to adulthood (Patel et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom a developmental perspective, parental emotional warmth defined as parental behaviors that convey affection, empathy, and consistent support has been identified as a key protective factor for socioemotional adjustment (Kessler et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Drawing on Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002), emotionally warm parenting helps children internalize adaptive emotional coping and social confidence, thereby reducing vulnerability to social anxiety. Longitudinal research has further demonstrated that such early emotional climates continue to shape attachment security, social competence, and emotional maturity well into emerging adulthood (Choe, Lee, \u0026amp; Read, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuilding upon this theoretical framework, the present study investigates how parental emotional warmth contributes to social anxiety through the mediating role of psychological capital a multidimensional construct that encompasses hope, resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy (Luthans et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover, the study explores the moderating effects of gender and leadership role (e.g., serving as a class monitor), two contextual factors that recent developmental and leadership research highlight as central to emotion regulation and self-concept formation during early adulthood (Park et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Branje et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Walker et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite growing evidence linking parenting and anxiety, the long-term mechanisms through which parental emotional warmth shapes social anxiety in emerging adulthood remain insufficiently understood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGuided by this framework, the present study proposes a longitudinal moderated mediation model to elucidate how early emotional experiences are translated into enduring psychological strengths that buffer against social anxiety. By doing so, the study aims to advance developmental and educational psychology by offering an empirically grounded model linking emotional warmth, psychological capital, and key contextual factors such as gender and leadership experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePresent study\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEmotion regulation, as proposed by Gross (2002), refers to the processes by which individuals influence the emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them. Effective emotion regulation enables individuals to manage stress, maintain psychological balance, and adapt to social environments. Within the family context, parents play a crucial role in shaping children’s emotion regulation abilities through emotional modeling and responsive caregiving. Emotion regulation theory further explains how emotional processes influence social behavior and anxiety (James \u0026amp; Gross, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParental emotional warmth (PEW), characterized by empathy, support, and emotional responsiveness creates a secure and nurturing emotional environment that promotes the development of adaptive emotion regulation strategies (e.g., cognitive reappraisal, emotional awareness, and positive coping). Through repeated positive emotional exchanges, children gradually internalize these regulatory patterns, which strengthen psychological resilience and decrease vulnerability to anxiety. From the perspective of Emotion Regulation Theory, parental emotional warmth therefore functions as a protective emotional climate that fosters effective emotion regulation and, in turn, mitigates social anxiety in emerging adulthood (Li et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Pan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). In this study, PEW is conceptualized as an early family based emotional resource that shapes the development of emotion regulation and contributes to positive psychological outcomes over time. Building on this theoretical foundation, the present study employs Emotion Regulation Theory to elucidate how parental emotional warmth cultivates psychological capital and subsequently alleviates social anxiety across developmental stages.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecent studies have emphasized the importance of the family environment in influencing social anxiety (Howard et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Research has identified several key factors affecting social anxiety, such as parental emotional warmth and individual differences in emotional regulation (Butterfield et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Jensen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Zhang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) found that parental emotional warmth significantly and negatively predicts social anxiety, indicating that higher emotional warmth results in lower levels of anxiety. This finding is consistent with the stress-buffering hypothesis, which suggests that social support reduces the negative effects of stress on anxiety (Sheldon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). Butterfield et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) also found that emotional warmth predicts lower levels of adolescent anxiety. Moreover, insufficient emotional warmth has been linked to increased academic anxiety and depression. Collectively, these findings suggest that parental emotional warmth plays a crucial role in mitigating social anxiety by enhancing individuals’ emotion regulation capacity, as proposed by Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002). Therefore, \u003cb\u003eHypothesis 1\u003c/b\u003e posits that parental emotional warmth has a significant negative effect on social anxiety among emerging adults.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePsychological capital (PsyCap) is defined as a positive psychological state of development characterized by hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (Luthans et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Luthans et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Warm, supportive parenting appears to be an important contextual source of these positive psychological resources. For example, higher parental warmth predicts higher self-efficacy in children, and self-efficacy partially mediates the link between parental warmth and adaptive learning attitudes, suggesting that emotionally warm parenting helps cultivate core components of psychological capital (Liu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Longitudinal evidence further shows that parental warmth and affection during early adolescence predicts fewer later internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression), in part because warmer parenting fosters healthier emotion regulation strategies in youth (Boullion et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Psychological capital itself hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism has been linked to better mental health outcomes, including lower anxiety and depression, and can buffer the impact of stress on psychological distress (Xu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Song \u0026amp; Song, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Taken together, these findings support the hypothesis that parental emotional warmth enhances youths’ psychological capital, which in turn may mediate the protective effect of parental warmth on social anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTherefore, \u003cb\u003eHypothesis 2\u003c/b\u003e: Parental emotional warmth has a significant positive impact on psychological capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHence, \u003cb\u003eHypothesis 3\u003c/b\u003e: Psychological capital mediates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender socialization theory posits that individuals’ emotional behaviors are shaped by sociocultural norms and expectations, resulting in gender-specific patterns of emotional expression and social interaction (Chaplin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Women tend to value emotional connectedness and display greater emotional expressiveness in interpersonal contexts, whereas men are more likely to emphasize autonomy and self-reliance (Chaplin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). These differences suggest that males and females may exhibit distinct emotional and behavioral responses to interpersonal stressors. Empirical evidence supports this view: large-scale epidemiological data indicate that adolescent girls report substantially higher levels of social anxiety symptoms than boys (Ranta et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeyond gender, leadership experience in school settings may also shape adolescents’ emotional regulation and coping strategies. Students in leadership or representative roles (e.g., class monitors) are often expected to manage peer relationships, meet teacher expectations, and absorb responsibility for group functioning. Such roles can foster resilience by requiring ongoing emotional management under pressure, but they may also elevate stress and role strain due to increased accountability and visibility (Ertem, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). These contextual factors may therefore moderate the influence of parental emotional warmth on adolescents’ psychological capital and social anxiety. Accordingly, this study hypothesizes that both gender and class monitor status moderate the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender and class monitor status jointly moderate the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuilding upon both Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002) and Psychological Capital Theory (Luthans et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e), the present study proposes an integrative framework explaining how parental emotional warmth reduces social anxiety among emerging adults. From the perspective of Emotion Regulation Theory, parental emotional warmth provides an emotionally secure environment that fosters the development of adaptive regulatory strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and emotional acceptance thereby minimizing maladaptive responses to social threats. Over time, these adaptive regulation patterns contribute to the accumulation of internal psychological resources.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile Emotion Regulation Theory and Psychological Capital Theory offer the conceptual foundations, the dynamic mechanism linking them can be further clarified by Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory (2001). According to this framework, positive emotions such as warmth, gratitude, and security broaden individuals’ momentary thought–action repertoires and promote the building of enduring personal resources, including resilience and optimism. Within the family context, parental emotional warmth generates repeated experiences of safety and positive affect, which expand children’s emotional repertoires and enhance their coping flexibility.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese broadened emotional and cognitive patterns gradually accumulate into psychological capital a reservoir of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism that supports mental health and mitigates social anxiety. Thus, the emotional climate created by warm parenting not only regulates immediate affective responses but also initiates an upward spiral of psychological growth.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn summary, this dynamic process bridges short term emotional regulation with long-term psychological resource development, providing a comprehensive explanation of how parental emotional warmth translates into reduced social anxiety in emerging adulthood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough an extensive body of research has demonstrated that parental emotional warmth functions as a protective factor against social anxiety (Butterfield et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Katsantonis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), most existing studies are cross-sectional, thereby constraining causal inference and limiting our understanding of developmental trajectories. Furthermore, previous investigations have typically examined parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety as independent constructs rather than integrating them within a unified theoretical framework (Gross, 2002; Luthans et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, the dynamic mechanisms through which parental emotional warmth fosters psychological resources and, in turn, alleviates social anxiety remain insufficiently understood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeyond these methodological limitations, notable theoretical and cultural gaps persist. While Western research has underscored the importance of parental warmth in promoting emotional well-being (Ranta et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), few studies have explored how this relationship unfolds within collectivist societies such as China, where familial interdependence, filial obligations, and relational harmony may shape the psychological meaning of parental warmth (Zhang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, the potential influence of leadership role status such as serving as a class monitor has been largely overlooked, despite its relevance to social responsibility, self-efficacy, and identity development during emerging adulthood (Ertem, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo address these gaps, the present study advances the literature in three significant ways. First, it employs a three-wave longitudinal design to establish temporal precedence and strengthen causal interpretations of the relationships among parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety. Second, it develops and empirically tests a moderated mediation model that simultaneously considers gender and leadership role as contextual moderators, thereby offering a more nuanced understanding of individual and situational differences (Tsarpalis-Fragkoulidis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Third, by situating the investigation within the Chinese cultural context, the study extends emotion-regulation and psychological-capital theories to a non-Western setting (Gross, 2002; Luthans et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e), thereby enriching cross-cultural perspectives on the developmental foundations of social anxiety in emerging adulthood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTogether, these contributions provide a contextually grounded and theoretically integrative explanation of how parental emotional warmth promotes adaptive psychological development and mitigates social anxiety among emerging adults.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Method","content":"\u003ch2\u003eResearch Framework\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of this study is to examine the longitudinal relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety in Chinese emerging adults, with psychological capital as a mediator and gender and class monitor status as moderators. The study aims to explore how parental emotional warmth influences social anxiety, the mediating role of psychological capital, and the moderating effects of gender and class monitor status. We will employ a three-wave longitudinal design (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). To achieve these aims, we first investigate the relationships among parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety. Next, we examine a moderated mediation model with two objectives: (1) to explore whether psychological capital mediates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety, and (2) to determine whether gender and class monitor status moderate the indirect relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety via psychological capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eResearch Participants\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study involved three waves of data collection, with participants being emerging adults (university students) from Sichuan Province and Chongqing City. A total of 552 participants took part in at least one wave of the survey. Specifically, 323 participants completed the first wave (Time 1, T1; March 2024), 442 completed the second wave (Time 2, T2; September 2024), and 376 completed the third wave (Time 3, T3; March 2025). After matching across the three waves, 376 participants provided complete data for all three time points, which constituted the final longitudinal sample used for analysis. Attrition analyses showed no significant differences in key baseline variables (parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety) between participants who remained in the study and those who dropped out (|t| \u0026lt; 1.00, ps \u0026gt; .05, Cohen’s d \u0026lt; .15), suggesting that attrition was random and did not bias the results.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study hypothesizes that parental emotional warmth measured at Time 1 (T1) influences social anxiety at Time 3 (T3) through the mediating effect of psychological capital assessed at Time 2 (T2). Accordingly, T1 parental emotional warmth serves as the independent variable, T2 psychological capital functions as the mediator, and T3 social anxiety represents the dependent variable.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis temporal structure enables the examination of causal pathways across three distinct time points. Measuring parental emotional warmth at T1 captures early family emotional support that theoretically precedes the development of psychological capital. Psychological capital at T2 then reflects the accumulation of positive psychological resources derived from earlier emotional experiences and is expected to predict social anxiety at T3.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis causal ordering aligns with Emotion Regulation Theory (Gross, 2002) and Psychological Capital Theory (Luthans et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e), which together suggest that parental emotional warmth fosters psychological capital, thereby reducing later social anxiety. Selecting T1, T2, and T3 as measurement points allows for a longitudinal test of this theoretical model and strengthens causal interpretation by establishing temporal precedence. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the first author’s university.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the establishment of the study design and ethical approval, the measurement instruments for each variable were administered as described below.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eParental Emotional Warmth\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study adopted the Parental Rearing Style Scale developed by Jiang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e), focusing on the emotional warmth subscale. The instrument consists of 14 items, including seven items each for fathers and mothers. Responses were rated on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“Never”) to 4 (“Always”), with higher scores indicating greater perceived emotional warmth. The internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α) for the emotional warmth subscale was 0.84 at Time 1 (T1), 0.87 at Time 2 (T2), and 0.89 at Time 3 (T3), demonstrating satisfactory reliability across all three waves.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSocial Anxiety\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study used the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) developed by Fergus et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) from the University of Southwestern Wales, Australia. The scale consists of 19 items, with responses scored using a Likert-type five-point scale, ranging from 1 to 5 (i.e., \"Strongly Disagree\" to \"Strongly Agree\"). A higher score indicates more pronounced symptoms of social anxiety. In this study, the Cronbach’s α coefficients for the three waves were 0.91 (T1), 0.85 (T2), and 0.88 (T3), respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePsychological Capital\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study used the University Students' Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire, developed by Zhang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e), specifically designed for Chinese university students (applied here to emerging adults). The original questionnaire contains 24 items across four dimensions: self-efficacy, resilience, hope, and optimism. A Likert-type seven-point scale was used, ranging from \"Strongly Disagree\" to \"Strongly Agree,\" with scores ranging from 0 to 7. Higher scores indicate higher levels of psychological capital. In this study, the Cronbach’s α coefficients for the three time points were 0.88 (T1), 0.89 (T2), and 0.82 (T3), respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eControl Variable\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this study, gender and class monitor status were treated as moderator variables to explore their roles in moderating the effect of parental emotional warmth on emerging adults' psychological capital. Gender and class monitor status may affect the moderating effect of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital because both involve individual differences in social interaction, responsibility, and emotional responses.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender as a moderator may influence the mechanisms through which parental emotional warmth affects psychological capital. Males and females often exhibit differences in emotional expression, social interaction, and coping strategies. Research indicates that females may be more sensitive to emotional support and social connections, so parental emotional warmth may have a stronger positive impact on the psychological capital of female emerging adults (e.g., self-efficacy, hope, resilience) (Del Pino \u0026amp; Matud, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). In contrast, males may be more reserved in emotional regulation and expression, and thus, the impact of parental emotional warmth on their psychological capital may follow a different pattern. Treating gender as a moderator helps to reveal the differentiated impact of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital across different genders and further understand the role of gender in the development of psychological capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eClass monitor status, as a role involving leadership responsibilities, may also play a moderating role in the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Class monitors typically assume greater social responsibilities and tasks, requiring stronger social skills, emotional management, and decision-making abilities. With parental emotional warmth, class monitors may show higher levels of psychological capital, especially in self-efficacy and resilience, because their leadership roles may make them more dependent on emotional support to cope with pressure and challenges (Liu, Bian \u0026amp; Bian, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Non-class monitors, while also receiving parental emotional warmth, may not experience the same level of psychological capital development due to the differences in roles. Therefore, whether or not one is a class monitor may moderate the effect of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital, influencing emerging adults' psychological resources in the face of social challenges.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eStatistical Analyses\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst, this study calculated the descriptive statistics for all study variables and conducted Pearson correlation analysis to explore the relationships among these variables. Second, this study used the PROCESS macro (Model 4) (Hayes, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) to examine the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety. Third, this study applied the PROCESS macro (Model 9) (Hayes, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) to test whether gender and class monitor status moderate the indirect relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. To ensure the reliability of the results, bias-corrected percentile bootstrap with 5000 samples was used to assess the significance of the indirect effects. A 95% confidence interval (95% CI) that does not include zero indicates statistical significance at the 0.05 level. Prior to the analysis, this study standardized all variables and included T1 gender and class monitor status as control variables in the model.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eReliability and Validity Checks\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore conducting the main analyses, the reliability and validity of all key measures were examined. All scales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α values ranging from .82 to .91 across the three measurement waves. To further assess temporal stability, test–retest correlations were calculated between adjacent waves, which indicated acceptable cross-time reliability (r = .74–.83, p \u0026lt; .001). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were also conducted for each construct at three time points, showing good model fit (χ²/df \u0026lt; 3, CFI \u0026gt; .90, TLI \u0026gt; .90, RMSEA \u0026lt; .08). These results suggest that the measurement structures of parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety were stable and invariant across the three waves, thereby ensuring the robustness of the subsequent longitudinal analyses.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo assess potential common method bias, Harman’s single-factor test was conducted using all items from the key constructs (parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety). The results indicated that the first unrotated factor accounted for 29.6% of the total variance, which is below the critical threshold of 40%, suggesting that common method bias is unlikely to be a serious concern in the present study. Moreover, although all measures were self-reported, data were collected at three distinct time points over one year, and this longitudinal, time-lagged design further mitigates the risk of inflated relationships due to same-source bias.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough all measures were self-reported, data were collected at three distinct time points over one year. This longitudinal, time-lagged design helps reduce the risk of inflated relationships due to same-source bias.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDescriptive Statistics\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe descriptive statistics and graphs for father\u0026rsquo;s emotional warmth (F_PEW, T1), mother\u0026rsquo;s emotional warmth (M_PEW, T1), social anxiety (SA, T3), and psychological capital (PC, T2) are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. The correlation analysis reveals that parental emotional warmth (T1) is significantly negatively correlated with social anxiety (T3). The correlation coefficients are: for F_PEW, r = -0.305 (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and for M_PEW, r = -0.296 (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Parental emotional warmth (T1) is significantly positively correlated with psychological capital (T2). The correlation coefficients are: for F_PEW, r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.474 (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and for M_PEW, r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.487 (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Psychological capital (T2) is significantly negatively correlated with social anxiety (T3), with a correlation coefficient of r = -0.359 (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Furthermore, the absolute values of the correlation coefficients between all pairs of variables were found to be less than 0.8, suggesting no issues with multicollinearity (Cohen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. T1 F_PEW\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.952\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.722\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. T1 M_PEW\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.068\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.706\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.855***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. T3 S A\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.431\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.834\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.305***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.296***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. T2 P C\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.897\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.834\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.474***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.487***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.359***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eNote: F_PEW\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Father\u0026rsquo;s Emotional Warmth; M_PEW\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Mother\u0026rsquo;s Emotional Warmth; SA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Social Anxiety; PC\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Psychological Capital; N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;552; ***p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, the violin plots further illustrate the gender-based distributions of the key variables. Male emerging adults reported slightly higher levels of psychological capital (T2) and lower levels of social anxiety (T3) compared with females, while no substantial gender difference was observed in parental emotional warmth (T1). These visual patterns are consistent with the correlation results in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, where parental emotional warmth was positively related to psychological capital and negatively related to social anxiety. The gender‐specific distributions provide an intuitive overview of how these constructs vary across male and female participants before testing the mediation and moderation hypotheses.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, a three-dimensional scatter plot was constructed to visualize the interrelationships among parental emotional warmth (T1), psychological capital (T2), and social anxiety (T3) across gender. The plot reveals a clear trend whereby individuals with higher levels of parental emotional warmth tend to report greater psychological capital and lower social anxiety. Although this overall pattern is consistent across genders, male participants appear to cluster more densely within the higher range of psychological capital compared with female participants. This visualization provides an intuitive depiction of the associations observed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and lends visual support to the proposed mediation hypothesis, suggesting that psychological capital partially mediates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMediating Effect\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe mediating role of psychological capital (T2) was examined using Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Results are reported in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes\u0026rsquo; PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Parental emotional warmth at Time 1 (T1) significantly and negatively predicted social anxiety at Time 3 (T3), β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.294, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, \u003cb\u003econsistent with Hypothesis 1\u003c/b\u003e. Parental emotional warmth (T1) also positively predicted psychological capital at Time 2 (T2), β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.531, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, \u003cb\u003esupporting Hypothesis 2\u003c/b\u003e. When psychological capital (T2) was included as a mediator, it was inversely associated with social anxiety (T3), β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.116, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001. The direct effect of parental emotional warmth (T1) on social anxiety (T3) decreased but remained significant, β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.167, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, indicating partial mediation and \u003cb\u003esupporting Hypothesis 3.\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBootstrapping analyses further confirmed a significant indirect effect of parental emotional warmth (T1) on social anxiety (T3) via psychological capital (T2), β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.127, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.034, 95% CI [\u0026ndash;0.197, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.063]. Both the direct effect, β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.167, 95% CI [\u0026ndash;0.251, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.083], and the total effect, β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.294, 95% CI [\u0026ndash;0.369, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.219], were significant. The indirect pathway accounted for approximately 43% of the total effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that parental emotional warmth (T1) alleviates social anxiety (T3) not only directly but also indirectly by enhancing psychological capital (T2).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e Testing the mediation model of social anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003epredictor\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eT\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI [LL,UL]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eX(T1)\u0026rarr;Y(T3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etotal effect(C)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.294***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.038\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-7.71\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e[\u003c/b\u003e-0.369, -0.219\u003cb\u003e]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eX(T1)\u0026rarr;M(T2)(a path)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.531***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.039\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e13.51\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e[\u003c/b\u003e0.454, 0.608\u003cb\u003e]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eX(T1)\u0026rarr;Y(T3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edirect effect(c\u0026prime;)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.167***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.043\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-3.91\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e[\u003c/b\u003e-0.251, -0.083\u003cb\u003e]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM(T2)\u0026rarr;Y(T3)(b path)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.116***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.040\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-5.95\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e[\u003c/b\u003e-0.319, -0.161\u003cb\u003e]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect effect(a\u0026times;b)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.127***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.034\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e[\u003c/b\u003e-0.197, -0.063\u003cb\u003e]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eNote. β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;standardized coefficients; SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;standard error; t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;t statistic; ***p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eModerating Effect\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo test whether gender moderates the relationship in the first half of the mediation model, Hayes\u0026rsquo;s PROCESS Model 9 was used (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;376). As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, parental emotional warmth (T1) significantly and positively predicted psychological capital (T2), β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.510, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.050, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;10.30, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, 95% CI [0.412, 0.607]. The interaction term between parental emotional warmth (T1) and gender significantly predicted psychological capital (T2), β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.249, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.114, t = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2.18, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.030, 95% CI [\u0026ndash;0.473, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.025], indicating that gender moderates the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Similarly, the interaction between parental emotional warmth (T1) and class monitor status was also significant, β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.221, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.107, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.06, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.040, 95% CI [0.010, 0.431].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the second stage of the model, psychological capital (T2) significantly predicted social anxiety (T3), β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.240, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.069, t = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3.47, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, while parental emotional warmth (T1) continued to exert a direct negative effect, β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.167, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.049, t = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3.39, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBootstrapping analyses revealed significant conditional indirect effects of parental emotional warmth (T1) on social anxiety (T3) via psychological capital (T2) across gender and class monitor groups (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Specifically, the indirect effect was stronger for males than for females, and for those without class monitor status compared to those with such status. This indicates that both gender and class monitor status moderate the indirect pathway linking parental emotional warmth to social anxiety through psychological capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e illustrates the conditional effects of parental emotional warmth (T1) on psychological capital (T2) by gender and class monitor status. The regression slopes differ across subgroups, indicating that the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital varies depending on these moderators. \u003cb\u003eThis finding supports Hypothesis\u003c/b\u003e \u003cspan refid=\"FPar1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e4\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e Results of moderated mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 9,N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;552)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePath/Effect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eT\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[LL, UL]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"6\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFirst stage (X\u0026rarr;M)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePEW\u0026rarr; PC\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.510***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.050\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.30\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.412, 0.607]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePEW \u0026times; Gender\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.249\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.114\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-2.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e=\u0026thinsp;.030\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.473, -0.025]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePEW \u0026times; CM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.221\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.107\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e=\u0026thinsp;.040\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.010, 0.431]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSecond stage(M,X\u0026rarr;Y)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePEW \u0026rarr; SA(direct c\u0026prime;)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.167***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.049\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-3.39\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.264, -0.070]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePC \u0026rarr; SA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.240***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.069\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-3.47\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.375, -0.104]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"6\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConditional indirect effects(PEW\u0026rarr;PC\u0026rarr;SA)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Male,class monitor\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Yes\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.498***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.039\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.205, -0.051]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Male,class monitor\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;No\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.718***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.044\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.261, -0.087]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Female,class monitor\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Yes\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.248***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.133, -0.011]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Female,class monitor\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;No\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.469***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.035\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.186, -0.051]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"6\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eModerated Mediation Indices: PEW \u0026times; Gender and Class Monitor\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.060\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.026\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.009, 0.111]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eclass monitor\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.053***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.027\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[-0.108, -0.005]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eNote. β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;standardized coefficients; SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;standard error; t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;t statistic; *p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05, ***p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e presents the conditional effects of Parental Emotional Warmth (PEW, T1) on Psychological Capital (PC, T2), moderated by Gender (T1) and Class Monitor (CM, T1) status. As shown, the regression slopes differ substantially across groups. For males, the association between PEW and PC was stronger (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.63, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001) than for females (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.41, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.012). Similarly, non-class monitors exhibited a steeper positive slope (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.59, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001) compared with class monitors (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.35, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.028).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA simple slope analysis confirmed that both Gender and Class Monitor status significantly moderated the first-stage path of the mediation model. Specifically, the effect of parental emotional warmth on psychological capital was most pronounced among male non-class monitors and least pronounced among female class monitors. The moderated mediation index was statistically significant for Gender (Index\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.060, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.026, 95% CI [0.009, 0.111]) and for Class Monitor status (Index = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.053, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.027, 95% CI [\u0026ndash;0.108, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.005]).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese results provide empirical support for the conditional indirect effects reported in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, indicating that both Gender and Class Monitor status shape the developmental mechanism through which parental emotional warmth enhances psychological capital and, in turn, reduces social anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe moderating effects of gender and leadership role observed in this study warrant deeper interpretation. From a gendered emotional socialization perspective, males may internalize parental emotional warmth as a source of self-efficacy and resilience, whereas females socialized to value interpersonal connectedness may experience warmth primarily as relational reassurance rather than as a direct driver of psychological capital. This distinction could explain the stronger mediating pathway found among males. Similarly, the finding that non-class monitors benefited more from parental emotional warmth than class monitors can be understood through the resource substitution hypothesis. Student leaders typically possess richer social resources, peer recognition, and self-efficacy derived from their leadership roles, which may buffer or dilute the incremental impact of parental warmth. In contrast, non-leaders may depend more heavily on family emotional support to build internal psychological resources, resulting in a stronger association between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. Together, these interpretations highlight the importance of considering gendered emotional socialization and role-based contextual factors when examining the developmental processes linking family emotional climate and psychological well-being.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe present three-wave longitudinal investigation sought to elucidate the developmental processes through which parental emotional warmth shapes social anxiety among Chinese emerging adults, with particular attention paid to the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating influences of gender and leadership role. Taken together, the findings lend robust support to the hypothesized model and suggest that early emotional environments within the family may initiate a cascade of psychological processes that exert long-lasting effects on socioemotional functioning (Howard et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). At the same time, the results highlight culturally shaped nuances in how these mechanisms unfold, underscoring the importance of embedding developmental inquiry within specific sociocultural contexts.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConsistent with Hypothesis 1, parental emotional warmth was found to significantly and negatively predict social anxiety over time. This longitudinal association reinforces the extensive body of evidence demonstrating that warm, responsive, and emotionally supportive parenting contributes to more adaptive emotion regulation capacities, greater perceived security, and reduced vulnerability to internalizing problems (Garc\u0026iacute;a et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). The present findings support the notion that when emerging adults have repeatedly experienced emotional availability, validation, and responsiveness from their parents, they are more likely to internalize stable emotional schemas characterized by trust, openness, and reduced threat reactivity. Such schemas may, in turn, serve as protective factors against cognitive patterns central to social anxiety, including heightened fear of negative evaluation, anticipatory worry, and social avoidance (Xu, Liu, \u0026amp; Zeng, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Although the direction of associations aligns with findings from Western populations, the moderate effect size observed in the Chinese sample suggests that cultural norms emphasizing emotional restraint, relational harmony, and indirect communication may modulate how parental warmth is expressed, perceived, and integrated into the self-system, resulting in potentially attenuated but still meaningful effects.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAligned with Hypothesis 2, parental emotional warmth was positively associated with psychological capital, extending a substantial body of research demonstrating that supportive and cohesive family environments foster the development of positive psychological resources such as resilience, hope, optimism, and self-efficacy (Yu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Liu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Warm parenting may cultivate these resources by validating children\u0026rsquo;s emotional experiences, strengthening their sense of autonomy, and modeling adaptive strategies for managing stress and adversity. Notably, the current findings revealed a culturally meaningful pattern: optimism although a fundamental component of psychological capital was comparatively lower among participants than is typically documented in Western samples. This divergence may reflect culturally embedded tendencies toward moderate self-presentation, cautious expectation-setting, and dialectical thinking, which are characteristic of East Asian sociocultural contexts. Thus, while the overarching mechanism linking parental warmth to psychological capital may exhibit cross-cultural generality, the relative prominence of specific components such as optimism appears to be shaped by culturally situated meaning systems.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs predicted in Hypothesis 3, psychological capital mediated the relationship between parental emotional warmth and later social anxiety. This mediating pathway provides strong support for Psychological Capital Theory, which posits that positive psychological resources function as internal buffers that protect individuals from emotional distress (Luthans, Youssef, \u0026amp; Avolio, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Emerging adults with higher levels of psychological capital may be better equipped to navigate interpersonal challenges with cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and a heightened sense of agency, thereby reducing the likelihood of developing maladaptive social cognitions or avoidance tendencies. Importantly, the longitudinal design of the present study enabled the identification of a temporal sequence in which parental emotional warmth precedes the development of psychological capital, which subsequently predicts changes in social anxiety. This temporal ordering strengthens causal inference and highlights the dynamic process through which early emotional environments shape later socioemotional functioning. Recent theoretical advancements further emphasize that family emotional climates play a foundational role in the development of emotion regulation capacities across the lifespan, thereby reinforcing the mechanisms identified in this study (Morris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePartial support emerged for Hypothesis \u003cspan refid=\"FPar1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, which posited that gender and leadership role would moderate the association between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital. The findings indicated that male emerging adults may exhibit heightened sensitivity to parental warmth in the development of psychological capital a pattern that may stem from gendered socialization practices emphasizing self-reliance, emotional restraint, and competence among males. In contrast, females may draw more extensively on broader relational networks such as peers and mentors when cultivating psychological resources, thereby diminishing the unique influence of parental warmth. Leadership experience, particularly service as a class monitor, also surfaced as a notable moderating factor. Within Chinese educational contexts, student leaders are typically entrusted with considerable social and administrative responsibilities and are expected to demonstrate interpersonal competence and emotional stability. These contextual demands may amplify the extent to which parental emotional warmth facilitates the development of psychological strengths by providing opportunities to translate emotional support into real-world competencies. Recent evidence further indicates that parental warmth promotes adolescents\u0026rsquo; leadership emergence through both intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways, offering theoretical support for the moderating effect of leadership experience observed in the present study (Liu \u0026amp; Bian, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Taken together, this culturally embedded moderation highlights the notion that developmental trajectories are jointly shaped by family dynamics and sociocultural role expectations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaken together, the findings offer a multifaceted perspective on how familial emotional environments, internal psychological resources, and sociocultural factors converge to influence social anxiety during emerging adulthood. The study makes a theoretical contribution by integrating Emotion Regulation Theory and Psychological Capital Theory within a longitudinal developmental framework and demonstrating how early emotional inputs may contribute to enduring psychological outcomes. Moreover, the identification of gender and leadership role as contextual factors provides a more differentiated understanding of interindividual variability in these developmental pathways, emphasizing the need to consider how cultural norms and social roles shape the translation of familial experiences into internal psychological resources.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe practical implications of these findings are manifold. Interventions aimed at enhancing warm parent\u0026ndash;child communication and fostering emotionally supportive family environments may exert long term benefits by strengthening the psychological capital of emerging adults and mitigating social anxiety. At the educational level, programs designed to cultivate resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy such as group-based positive psychology interventions or skills based workshops may be particularly effective. The moderating roles of gender and leadership suggest that a one-size-fits-all approach may be insufficient; instead, tailored interventions that account for gendered patterns of socialization and role-specific demands may be more impactful. Universities can further support students by providing leadership development opportunities, socioemotional training, and peer-support structures that reinforce key psychological strengths. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of addressing family emotional climates, internal psychological resources, and broader sociocultural contexts as interconnected determinants of emotional well-being during the transition to adulthood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eLimitations\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs with all empirical research, several limitations should be acknowledged. Although the three-wave longitudinal design strengthens temporal inference, the sample was drawn through convenience sampling from universities in Sichuan and Chongqing, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to emerging adults in other regions or cultural contexts. Participant attrition over time further reduced the number of individuals who completed all three waves of data collection. Future studies would benefit from larger, more diverse, and more representative samples. In addition, the gender distribution in the present sample was somewhat imbalanced, which may have influenced the moderating effects observed. More balanced sampling strategies in future research would help enhance the robustness of these findings.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll variables in this study were measured using self-report questionnaires, which may introduce biases such as social desirability or recall inaccuracies. Although the temporal separation across measurement waves reduces the risk of common-method variance, future research could incorporate multi-informant or multi-method assessments for example, reports from parents or peers, behavioral observations, or physiological indicators to provide a more comprehensive understanding of parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety. Qualitative approaches, such as interviews, may also offer deeper insight into how emerging adults interpret parental emotional experiences and develop psychological resources over time.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe analytical approach used in this study Hayes\u0026rsquo;s PROCESS macro relies on observed variables and does not account for measurement error or latent factors. More advanced techniques, such as structural equation modeling, latent growth modeling, or cross-lagged panel models, could more rigorously test the hypothesized relationships, assess measurement validity, and capture changes in key constructs over time. Employing these methods in future research may help further strengthen causal interpretations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFinally, the current model examined only two moderators\u0026rsquo; gender and leadership role while other potentially influential contextual or individual factors were not included. Variables such as peer support, academic stress, socioeconomic background, or personality traits may also shape the development of psychological capital and social anxiety. Incorporating such factors or drawing on additional theoretical frameworks such as resilience theory or UTAUT based models, may allow future studies to construct a more comprehensive explanation of how parental emotional warmth contributes to socioemotional outcomes in emerging adulthood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionList\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003ePEW\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eParental Emotional Warmth\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003ePsyCap\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePsychological Capital\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eSA\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSocial Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003es-EMBU-C\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eShort-form Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (Chinese version)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eSD\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStandard Deviation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eSE\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStandard Error\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eCI\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eConfidence Interval.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Sichuan University of Arts and Sciences. All participants provided informed consent prior to participation, and anonymity and confidentiality were strictly protected through full data anonymization.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll participants consented to the publication of anonymized data obtained in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research received no external funding.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQianyi Wan conceived and designed the study, conducted data collection, organization, and statistical analysis. Siqing Wen was responsible for data interpretation and provided critical revisions to the manuscript. The initial draft of the manuscript was jointly written by Qianyi Wan and Siqing Wen. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank all individuals who contributed to this work but do not meet the authorship criteria. We especially appreciate the valuable suggestions and support from colleagues during data collection and manuscript preparation. All acknowledged individuals have provided their permission to be mentioned.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to confidentiality restrictions but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhang Y, Chen J, Gao W, Chen W, Xiao Z, Qi Y, Turel O, He Q. 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Leadership blossoms in parental warmth: Positive parenting practices shape adolescent leader emergence via intrapersonal and interpersonal mechanisms. J Youth Adolesc. 2024;53(10):2266\u0026ndash;86. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01983-y\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/s10964-024-01983-y\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Emerging Adults, Parental Emotional Warmth, Social Anxiety, Psychological Capital, Mediation Effect, Gender, Leadership Role","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8044731/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8044731/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis longitudinal study explores the relationships between parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety in Chinese emerging adults, with a focus on the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating effects of gender and leadership role. The study aims to investigate how these factors evolve over time and interact with one another.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA sample of 552 Chinese emerging adults (ages 18\u0026ndash;24) participated in this study, with data collected across three time points (T1, T2, T3). Parental emotional warmth, psychological capital, and social anxiety were assessed using well-established scales. PROCESS macro was employed to conduct regression analyses, testing the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety, while also examining the moderating effects of gender and leadership role.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe findings indicate that parental emotional warmth has a significant and negative impact on social anxiety over time. Psychological capital partially mediates the longitudinal relationship between parental emotional warmth and social anxiety. Gender and leadership role were found to moderate this relationship, with male emerging adults showing a stronger positive association between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital compared to female emerging adults, particularly at earlier time points. Furthermore, leadership role also moderated the relationship between parental emotional warmth and psychological capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study enhances our understanding of the long-term impact of parental emotional warmth on social anxiety through psychological capital, with gender and leadership status (i.e., class monitor role) acting as significant moderators. The findings emphasize the importance of fostering psychological capital and emotional warmth as potential strategies for alleviating social anxiety over time. The study provides valuable insights for families and youth development practitioners on creating supportive environments to promote psychological well-being.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"From Warmth to Well-Being: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Study of Parental Emotional Warmth, Psychological Capital, and Social Anxiety in Chinese Emerging Adults","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-24 05:51:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8044731/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-19T02:19:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-17T12:14:59+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"266336856701239499114499531799245673187","date":"2026-05-17T12:10:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"134394957886259193129276423519961692175","date":"2026-05-17T05:10:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"305008178796699055692249870955592495595","date":"2026-05-08T11:48:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-29T05:44:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"55515281448383992015574966920059904712","date":"2025-11-28T01:09:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-28T00:35:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-22T09:25:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-19T06:14:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-17T15:51:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Psychology","date":"2025-11-17T15:48:25+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8496e9d6-9532-4f9e-9c40-6d53eb9defba","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 24th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-19T02:19:18+00:00","index":82,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-17T12:14:59+00:00","index":80,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"266336856701239499114499531799245673187","date":"2026-05-17T12:10:13+00:00","index":79,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"134394957886259193129276423519961692175","date":"2026-05-17T05:10:50+00:00","index":78,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"305008178796699055692249870955592495595","date":"2026-05-08T11:48:12+00:00","index":54,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-28T00:38:18+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-24 05:51:42","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8044731","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8044731","identity":"rs-8044731","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}