Mechanisms underlying the impact of the family rearing environment on emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children

Abstract

Objective To explore the associations of parental educational anxiety, parental burnout, reflective functioning with emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children so as to provide recommendations for the prevention and intervention of such issues. Methods In April 2025, a convenience sampling method was used to recruit 500 parents of children from seven kindergartens in Fuyang, Anhui Province.The Parental Educational Anxiety Content Scale (PEACS), the ChineseShort version Parental Burnout Assessment (S-PBA), the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were administered. Results 1) Parental educational parental anxiety significantly positively predicted preschool children's emotional and behavioral problems (β=0.305, P<0.001).2) Parental burnout partially mediated the relationship between educational anxiety and emotional and behavioral problems in preschool-age children (β=0.052, 95%CI: 0.027 - 0.085), accounting for 17.05% of the total effect.3) Reflective functioning moderated the relationship between parental educational anxiety and parental burnout (β=-0.093, t=-2.503, P<0.05), and the low reflective functioning group demonstrated a more significant predictive effect (β=0.366, t =6.403, P<0.001) compared to high reflective functioning group (β=0.179, t=3.158, P<0.01). Conclusions Parental educational anxiety significantly predicts emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children, with parental burnout serving as a partial mediator and reflective functioning moderating the first half of this mediation model.Interventions should focus on alleviating parental educational anxiety, reducing the risk of parental burnout, and enhancing reflective functioning to prevent and reduce emotional and behavioral problems in young children.

Keywords

educational anxiety / parental burnout / reflective functioning / emotional and behavioral problems