Open Access

ARTICLE

The Relationship between Parental Stress and Child Conformity: The Mediating Role of Resilience

Houyan Li^1,2, Guandong Song^1,*, Bin Xiao^1,*

1 School of Humanities and Law, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110169, China
2 President’s Office, Shenyang Urban Construction University, Shenyang, 110167, China

* Corresponding Authors: Guandong Song. Email: ; Bin Xiao. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2024, 26(9), 767-776. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.054545

Received 31 May 2024; Accepted 14 August 2024; Issue published 20 September 2024

Abstract

Background: In today’s society, parental stress has become a prevalent and significant issue, impacting not only parents’ mental health but also potentially profoundly affecting children’s growth and education. This topic has garnered continuous attention from scholars. The present study aims to delve into the relationship between parental stress and children’s behavior, particularly focusing on children’s conformity and discipline development during crucial stages. This study aims to explore the relationship between parental stress, child conformity, and resilience, and further examines the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between parental stress and child conformity. Methods: We used three scales: the Parental Stress Scale, the Child Conformity Scale, and the Resilience Scale, to survey 890 elementary school students (aged 6–12) and their parents in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China. We employed SPSS 26.0 software for data analysis, conducting descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and mediation effect tests sequentially. In the mediation effect tests, we utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) and regression analysis to examine the mediation effects, ensuring the accuracy and scientific nature of our analysis. Results: Through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression models, and mediation effect tests, we found that parental stress significantly negatively predicts child conformity, while resilience shows a significant positive prediction. Further mediation analysis indicates that resilience plays a partial mediating role between parental stress and child conformity, with the mediation effect accounting for 36.67%. Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of the family environment on child behavior and provide valuable insights and recommendations for family education practices in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Therefore, we suggest future research should further explore the complex relationships among parental stress, child conformity, and resilience, and examine regional differences to better promote children’s overall development.

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Keywords

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