Parenting stress and picky eating severity in preschoolers: An exploratory cross-sectional analysis of potential pathways via parental self-efficacy

BACKGROUND: Parenting stress links to preschoolers' picky eating, yet underlying pathways via parental self-efficacy (PSE) dimensions remain underexplored. This study examined whether general parenting self-efficacy, comprising efficacy and satisfaction dimensions, statistically mediates the association between parenting stress and picky eating severity, acknowledging that the measure assesses overall parenting competence rather than domain-specific feeding self-efficacy. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 459 parent-child dyads from Urumqi, China. Using two-phase data collection, we assessed parenting stress, general PSE (efficacy and satisfaction), and picky eating. Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 4) explored parallel mediation, adjusting for child age, caregiver education, and family type. Sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness across bootstrap specifications. RESULTS: Parenting stress correlated negatively with efficacy and satisfaction, which inversely associated with picky eating severity. Total association between stress and picky eating was significant (b = 0.047). Direct association remained significant but attenuated after mediation (b = 0.023). Both efficacy (b = 0.008) and satisfaction (b = 0.016) showed significant indirect associations, jointly explaining 51.24% of the total relationship. Notably, satisfaction's indirect pathway was approximately twice as strong as efficacy's (contrast analysis confirmed this difference was statistically significant). CONCLUSIONS: Parenting stress associates with picky eating partially through dual general PSE pathways, with emotional satisfaction being the stronger link. Effect sizes were small and may be partly attributable to the large sample size (N = 459), warranting cautious interpretation of practical significance. Findings support social cognitive theory, highlighting affective pathways in feeding. Interventions should enhance both parental competence and caregiving fulfillment. Longitudinal research is needed to validate these exploratory pathways.