AccScience Publishing / HPR / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/HPR026260140
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Self-esteem as a psychosocial pathway between reading ability and psychological distress in Chinese early adolescents

Yan Gan1 ,  Yuanyu Wang1 ,  Li Wang2 ,  Miaomiao Liu3 ,  Xiangnan Li4 ,  Yongqiang Su5*
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1 College of Psychology, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
2 Chengdu Yandaojie Foreign Language School, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
3 Faculty of Education, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
4 Center for Mental Health Education, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China
5 Center for Brain, Mind and Education, Department of Psychology, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China
HPR, 026260140 https://doi.org/10.36922/HPR026260140
Received: 28 June 2026 | Revised: 16 July 2026 | Accepted: 17 July 2026 | Published online: 24 July 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Background: Reading ability is associated with adolescents’ self-esteem, and self-esteem is, in turn, closely related to mental health outcomes. However, the psychological mechanisms linking these three constructs remain unclear.

Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relationship between reading ability and general psychological distress among Chinese early adolescents and examine the mediating role of self-esteem, while controlling for literacy achievement.

Methods: A total of 373 seventh-grade students were recruited. Reading ability was assessed via a battery of tests. General psychological distress and self-esteem were measured using the Chinese version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, respectively. Data were analyzed with correlation analysis, mediation analysis, and latent profile analysis (LPA).

Results: Reading ability was positively correlated with self-esteem (r = 0.18), while self-esteem was significantly correlated with psychological distress (r = −0.60). The indirect association between reading ability and psychological distress through self-esteem was significant (indirect effect = −0.09, 95% confidence interval [−0.16, −0.02]), whereas the direct association was not significant. LPA identified poor readers (14.7%) and typical readers (85.3%); typical readers reported higher self-esteem (Cohen’s d = 0.29) and marginally better mental health (Cohen’s d = 0.26).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that self-esteem may represent an important psychosocial factor linking reading ability with general psychological distress among early adolescents. The results highlight the potential value of school-based support that attends to both reading-related difficulties and students’ self-evaluations. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted as associations rather than evidence of causal relationships.

Keywords
Reading ability
Self-esteem
Psychological distress
Early adolescents
Latent profile analysis
Funding
This work was supported by the Planned Research Project of Educational Science in Sichuan Province (Grant No. SCJG25A006-4), the Foundation of Sichuan Research Center of Applied Psychology (Grant No. CSXL-25232), the General Program of the Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology-Education Joint Fund (Grant No. 2024NSFSC2099), the Youth Fund Project of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education (Grant No. 24YJCZH259), the Research Project of the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Social Sciences (Grant No. 20258136), the Teaching Reform Project of the Teaching Steering Committee for Psychology Majors in Higher Education, Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20251066), and the General Planned Research Project of Educational Science in Zhejiang Province (Grant No. 2024SCG156). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit the article for publication.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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