Chinese parents' education anxiety, parenting, and problem behaviors in preschool children: Child competence as moderator

Abstract Objective This study investigated how parental education anxiety was associated with preschoolers' internalizing and externalizing problems, and whether these associations were mediated by parenting styles. Additionally, the moderating role of children's competence in learning was examined. Background Chinese parents are generally anxious about their children's education. However, the implications of parental education anxiety for children's adjustment and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Method A total of 317 Chinese parents of preschool children aged 5 to 6 years from urban areas of China participated in this study and completed a set of questionnaires online. Results Parental education anxiety was positively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems in preschool children. Such associations were mediated by authoritarian parenting, whereas the mediating role of authoritative parenting was not significant. Children's competence in learning moderated the link between parental education anxiety and child internalizing problems across child gender, whereas its moderating role in the link between parental education anxiety and child externalizing problems was only evident in boys. In addition, the positive relation of parental education anxiety to authoritarian parenting was stronger in families with children who had low competence than in families with children who had high competence. Conclusion Parental education anxiety was a risk factor for children's psychological adjustment, and authoritarian parenting represented one of the underlying mechanisms. Moreover, children's competence in learning buffered the adverse effects of parental education anxiety. Implications Intervention programs need to develop strategies that can alleviate parents' education anxiety. The cultivation of children's overall competence is also needed.