Adolescent self-esteem and social adaptation: Chain mediation of peer trust and perceived social support

Our aim was to identify the relationships between self-esteem and social adaptation, and the chain mediating effect of peer trust and perceived social support in this relationship. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Peer Trust Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, and Scale on Social Adaptability for Secondary School Students were integrated into a paper-and-pencil survey. Participants were 400 adolescents in southwestern China. Results demonstrated that the relationship between self-esteem and social adaptation was partially mediated by peer trust and perceived social support. The results were explained using the ecological systems theory. Self-esteem is inside the core individual; peer trust is in the microsystem and/or mesosystem; perceived social support is in the mesosystem, exosystem, and/or macrosystem. Adolescent social adaptation could be promoted by directly enhancing self-esteem, thus indirectly improving peer trust and perceived social support.