@EdWorkingPaper{ai26-1516,
title = "Family Language Transmission Under Institutional Language Regimes Shapes Adolescent Mental Health Through Peers",
author = "Renyu Jiang",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "1516",
year = "2026",
month = "July",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1516",
abstract = {In many societies, institutional languages shape participation, recognition, and belonging, while families transmit language backgrounds across generations. These inherited backgrounds may contribute to children’s communication and, once children enter shared peer environments, to the experiences of their classmates. I show evidence that family language backgrounds travel across households through classroom peer exposure and affect adolescent well-being. Using nationally representative data from China and the random assignment of students to middle-school classrooms, I estimate the effect of being assigned peers whose family language aligns with the language of instruction. Exposure to language-of-instruction-aligned peers reduces students’ mental-health symptoms by 0.18 standard deviations ( ˆ β = −0.181; 95% CI, -0.316 to -0.046; P = 0.009) and improves peer relations, classroom climate, teacher feedback, school satisfaction, and other noncognitive outcomes. The findings show how institutional language environments can turn inherited family language backgrounds into peer-mediated spillovers that shape adolescent development beyond the household.},
}