Associations between dyslexia and mental health in primary school students: the roles of parenting style, and character strengths

Objective Dyslexia, a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs reading, poses risks to students’ academic and psychological well-being. This study examined the associations between dyslexia and mental health outcomes (anxiety and depression) in primary school students, focusing on the moderating roles of parenting style, and character strengths.Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,322 primary school students in Yinchuan city, China. Dyslexia risk was identified through multi-step screening. Binary logistic regression was used to test main effects and interaction effects (dyslexia × parenting style, dyslexia × character strengths), adjusting for sociodemographic covariates.Results Dyslexia risk was identified in 137 students (5.9%). In main-effect models, dyslexia risk was associated with higher depression (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.23–2.86, p = .003) but not anxiety (p = .190). Paternal overprotection significantly moderated the relationship between dyslexia and depression (OR for interaction = 0.16, p = .011), while no significant moderation was found for anxiety or for character strengths. These findings suggest that the mental health impact of dyslexia is context-dependent rather than uniformly buffered by protective factors.Conclusions Paternal overprotection specifically exacerbates depression risk among children with dyslexia, whereas general protective effects (e.g. emotional warmth) apply similarly to all children. Interventions should target parenting practices in families of children with reading difficulties.