Modeling the Role of Family Emotional Capital in Predicting Children’s Mental Health Through the Mediating Roles of Psychological Safety and Parent–Child Communication Quality
Keywords:
family emotional capital, children’s mental health, psychological safety, parent–child communication, thematic analysis, qualitative researchAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to develop a qualitative model explaining how family emotional capital contributes to children’s mental health through the perceived mechanisms of psychological safety and parent–child communication quality.Methods and Materials: This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The research population consisted of parents and adolescent children living in Tehran who had lived experiences related to family emotional interactions, psychological safety, and parent–child relationship quality. Participants were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation in gender, age, educational status, and family structure. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 24 participants, including 12 adolescents and 12 parents. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached; initial saturation emerged by the twenty-first interview, and three additional interviews were conducted to confirm data adequacy. Data were analyzed using the six-phase thematic analysis framework with the support of NVivo 14 software. Credibility and trustworthiness were enhanced through member checking, peer debriefing, analytic memo writing, and maintaining an audit trail.Findings: The analysis yielded five main categories: “family as a reliable emotional reservoir,” “psychological safety and fearless emotional disclosure,” “parent–child communication quality and reparative dialogue,” “transformation of emotional support into children’s mental health,” and “contextual conditions strengthening or weakening the model.” The findings indicated that family emotional capital contributes to children’s mental health when it is experienced through parental emotional availability, validation of feelings, stable parental responses, respect for autonomy, and non-humiliating dialogue. Psychological safety and parent–child communication quality emerged as the two central mechanisms explaining the pathway from emotional capital to outcomes such as emotional regulation, reduced anxiety, self-worth, mental calmness, and help-seeking.Conclusion: Family emotional capital is not limited to the amount of affection expressed within the household; rather, it is experienced through emotional accessibility, parental predictability, and safe communication. The proposed model suggests that family-based mental health interventions should prioritize rebuilding the emotional climate, psychological safety, and parent–child dialogue before focusing solely on behavioral parenting techniques.
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