The Role of Emotional Maturity & Family Emotional Atmosphere in Media Consumption Mediated by Peer Group relation among Intermediate Female Students

Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of emotional maturity and family emotional atmosphere in media consumption mediated by peer group. The research method was descriptive-correlation (structural equation modeling). The study population included all girl high school students in Yazd (16166 students). The sample size was 1152 students who were selected by clustered sampling. The research instruments included these questionnaires: emotional maturity , family emotional atmosphere , media consumption and relationships with peers. Data were analyzed in the form of structural equation modeling, using SPSS and AMOS software`s. Findings showed that there is a significant and negative relationship between emotional maturity and media consumption, but there is a significant and positive relationship between family emotional atmosphere and media consumption. There is a significant and positive relationship between emotional maturity and peer group relation, as well as, there is a significant and positive relationship between family emotional atmosphere and peer group relation. Also, a positive and significant relationship was found between the peer group relation and media consumption. In addition, the peer group relation positively mediated the relationship between emotional maturity and media consumption. The peer group relation also acted as a mediating variable in the relationship between family emotional atmosphere and media consumption positively. As conclusion, based on these findings, it is suggested that in secondary education, more attention should be paid to teaching media consumption skills, holding specialized workshops on family with the topics of family emotional atmosphere, emotional maturity and children's relationship with peers.