Introduction
With the widening economic divide in the Japanese society, child poverty has drawn increasing public and academic attention. Economic hardship influences not only children's access to material necessities, but also their psychological well-being, including self-esteem. Although the link between economic factors and children's self-esteem has been widely discussed, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain poorly understood.
Purpose
This study examined whether school life mediates the relationship between economic factors and self-esteem in Japanese children. In particular, the roles of school adjustment and parent-child relationships were compared across developmental stages.
Method
Data were obtained from the 2018 Survey of Children, Youth, and Parenting Families' Awareness and Living Conditions conducted in Nagoya. The analysis focused on 1,210 households with children in elementary, junior high, and high school. The children completed questionnaires to assess their perceptions of economic hardship, academic achievement, learning motivation, school adjustment, and self-esteem. Parents provided information on household income, shortage of essential goods, perceptions of economic hardship, and their relationship with their children. Path analysis was conducted to test the mediating effects of school adjustment and parent-child relationships.
Results
The findings showed that children's perceptions of economic hardship were negatively associated with school adjustment across all age groups, which in turn lowered their self-esteem. For elementary school children, perceptions of hardship were strongly influenced by shortage of essential goods, whereas junior high and high school students were more strongly affected by their parents' perceptions of hardship. The indirect effect of economic factors on self-esteem through parent-child relationships was observed only among elementary school children.
Conclusions
These results highlight the central role of school adjustment as a mediator between economic hardship and self-esteem among Japanese children. Therefore, interventions to support children living in poverty should prioritize fostering positive school experiences as a means of protecting and enhancing self-esteem.