How do familial creative climate influence creative scientific problem finding of adolescents: Chain mediation effects of intrinsic motivation for science and conceptual complexity

Prior research suggests supportive familial environments can positively impact adolescent creativity. However, it remains unclear whether a familial creative climate, the psychological atmosphere where creativity is encouraged within a family, can enhance adolescents’ ability to identify novel and meaningful scientific problems. Guided by the Ecological Systems Model of Creativity Development, which proposes that individual creativity is shaped by person-environment interactions, this study examines how familial creative climate influences adolescents' creative scientific problem finding through intrinsic motivation for science and conceptual complexity. The network analysis further explored the interactions between these variables. The sample included 610 Chinese secondary students who completed digital surveys. Structural equation modeling revealed that familial creative climate exerted a full indirect positive effect on creative scientific problem finding., mediated either by intrinsic motivation for science or a chain involving both intrinsic motivation and conceptual complexity. Correlation network analysis further highlighted the central roles of encouragement to experience novelty and variety, the proposition of conceptual complexity, and the fluency of creative scientific problem finding in driving these mechanisms. These findings confirm the significance of familial creative climate in nurturing adolescent creative scientific problem finding and provide insights into the complex interplay between familial and personal factors.