Mediating effect of psychological suzhi on the relationship between parental emotional warmth and personal belief in a just world

The current study examined how parental emotional warmth and psychological suzhi predicted students' personal belief in a just world and the mediating role of psychological suzhi. The participants were 1306 middle school students (48.2% male, 11- to 20-years-old) from three regions in China. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that psychological suzhi partially mediated the relationship between parental emotional warmth and students' personal belief in a just world after controlling for covariates; parental emotional warmth was not only directly associated with students' personal belief in a just world but also was indirectly associated with students' personal belief in a just world through psychological suzhi. This examination of psychological suzhi's association with personal belief in a just world extends the understanding of the causes of personal belief in a just world and informs new interventions targeting personal belief in a just world. Future research, clinical implications, and the limitations of the present study are also discussed