Effect of Paternal Emotional Warmth on Attitudes Toward Political Symbols: A Serial Mediating Model

Adolescence is a critical period for developing responses to political symbols. Based on the perspective of indirect political socialization, this study explored the effect of paternal emotional warmth (PEW) on attitudes toward political symbols and the underlying mechanism of teacher-student relationships (TSR) and political interest. Altogether, 819 Chinese public middle school students (mean age = 15.48) were asked to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Structural equation modeling and mediation analysis confirmed that PEW positively predicted attitudes toward political symbols, TSR and political interests played serial mediators between PEW and attitudes toward political symbols. These findings highlight the importance of relational factors (relations with fathers, teachers, and political objects) in fostering positive attitudes toward political symbols during adolescence.