Intensiveness of Mothering in China and Its Relationship with Preschoolers’Emotional and Behavioral Competence:The Suppression Effect of Maternal Psychological Well-Being  

作　　者：LI Yeqing WANG Cheng REN Lixin 

机构地区：[1]School of Human Ecology,University of Wisconsin-Madison,Madison 53706,USA [2]Center of Teacher Development,Minhang Institute of Education,Shanghai 200241,China [3]Academy of Future Education,Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University,Suzhou 215123,China

出　　处：《Frontiers of Education in China》2024年第1期37-60,共24页中国高等学校学术文摘·教育学（英文）

基　　金：funded by the Shanghai Planning Office of Educational Science Research Program in 2022“The Ideal and Reality of Organized Extracurricular Activities:Parents’Rationales for Enrolling Children in Activities and Children’s Experiences in the Activities”(No.A2022004).

摘　　要：Intensive parenting is becoming a prevalent parenting style in China.Parents invest tremendous time,energy,and money in childrearing,whereas the effectiveness of intensive parenting in helping children obtain developmental advantages remains controversial.Using the questionnaire survey,the present study investigates 388 mothers of preschoolers in Shanghai and Jinan,Shandong province,to explore the associations between the intensiveness of mothering,maternal psychological well-being,and preschoolers’emotional and behavioral competence.Four distinct patterns of the intensiveness of mothering are identified using latent profile analysis:high-endorsement&high-practice,medium-endorsement&medium-practice,low-endorsement&lowpractice,and selective-endorsement-and-practice.Maternal psychological well-being suppresses the relationship between the intensiveness of mothering and preschoolers’emotional and behavioral competence.The intensiveness of mothering is positively related to preschoolers’emotional and behavioral competence after excluding the indirect effect of maternal psychological well-being.In addition,mothers from profiles showing higher levels of the intensiveness of mothering have worse psychological wellbeing,and their preschoolers have lower levels of social-emotional development.The two pathways counteract each other,resulting in a non-significant overall relationship between the intensiveness of mothering and preschoolers’emotional and behavioral competence.The present study suggests that mothers may adjust their attitudes and practices toward intensive parenting,actively mediate their psychological well-being,and create a supportive environment for children’s social-emotional development.Families,preschools,and society as a whole are recommended to establish collaborative mechanisms to support mothers’childrearing and reduce their parenting stress.

关 键 词：intensive parenting maternal psychological well-being social-emotional development family education 

分 类 号：R395.6[哲学宗教—心理学]