Dual mediating roles of friend support and self-esteem in the association between bicultural acceptance attitudes and life satisfaction among multicultural adolescents in South Korea: the moderating role of depression.

This study examines whether depression is associated with variations in the associations between bicultural acceptance attitudes and life satisfaction alongside friend support and self-esteem among adolescents from multicultural families with a Korean father and a foreign mother in South Korea. Based on a theoretically derived model, the study tests a moderated mediation framework using data from the fifth wave (2023) of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS Phase 2). The analytic sample included 1,402 adolescents from families with Korean fathers and foreign mothers. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0, AMOS 23.0, and PROCESS macro (Model 91). The results indicate that bicultural acceptance attitudes are positively associated with friend support and self-esteem, which in turn are associated with life satisfaction. Furthermore, depression was associated with differences in the strength of the relationship between friend support and self-esteem, such that the association linking bicultural acceptance attitudes to life satisfaction alongside friend support became weaker at higher levels of depression. These findings are consistent with a moderated mediation pattern and suggest that depression is associated with variations in the pattern of the association among these psychosocial variables. The study provides theoretical and practical implications for supporting wellbeing among adolescents from multicultural families with a Korean father and a foreign mother.