Effect of Caregivers’ Parenting Styles on the Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Left-Behind Children: The Parallel Mediating Role of Self-Control

Abstract

Childhood is an important period of individual psychological development, and parents’ company and parenting styles are highly significant to children’s personality cultivation and mental health. With the advancement of China’s modernization and urbanization, left-behind children without their parents’ company have become a growing concern. Compared with children raised by their parents, left-behind children are more likely to show social maladaptation and mental health problems. This study explored the mediating effects of left-behind children’s dual mode of self-control between caregivers’ parenting styles and emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs). In this study, 469 left-behind children in senior classes of primary schools were investigated by adopting the caregivers’ parenting styles questionnaire of left-behind children, the dual-mode of self-control scale and the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. This study found that (1) the protective and risk factors for caregivers’ parenting styles not only directly affected EBP, but also affected it through the mediating effect of the dual-mode of self-control, and (2) the mediating effect of the impulsive system was significantly greater than that of the control system. This study confirmed that caregivers’ parenting styles had an important impact on left-behind children’s psychological growth: positive parenting styles not only directly reduced the risk of EBP, but also indirectly improved left-behind children’s mental health by promoting their level of self-control; negative parenting styles directly increased the risk of EBP and indirectly affected left-behind children’s mental problems by enhancing their level of impulsiveness. These findings provide an important basis for reducing the risk of mental health problems and cultivating good personality qualities of left-behind children.

Effect of parenting style on the emotional and behavioral problems among Chinese adolescents: the mediating effect of resilience

“…In this study, our findings indicate that parenting style was substantially correlated with EBPs among Chinese adolescents, which was in line with other studies [ 59 , 60 ]. According to our results, parental emotional warmth was negatively associated with the EBPs and subscales.…”

Association between maternal parenting styles and behavioral problems in children with ASD: Moderating effect of maternal autistic traits

“…However, the relations between parenting style and child's behavioral problems have been mixed. In contrast, previous studies have shown non-directional (13) or bidirectional (14) relations between parenting style and behavioral problems in TD children. One of the theoretical mechanisms underlying the association between parenting style and behavior problems in children is the coercion theory (15).…”

Parenting style and children emotion management skills among Chinese children aged 3–6: the chain mediation effect of self-control and peer interactions

“…The imposition of high levels of parental control and intervention may suppress children’s intrinsic motivation, subsequently limiting their exploration and adaptation abilities ( Guan et al, 2018 ). Additionally, research suggests that individuals with higher levels of self-control demonstrate better regulation of mood and emotions, whereas poor self-control is associated with anxiety and depression ( Özdemir et al, 2014 ; Yen et al, 2014 ; Pan et al, 2021 ). Given that poor self-control serves as a risk factor for mood disorders, it may contribute to comorbidity between anxiety-depression, substance use, and Internet addiction during later childhood ( Na et al, 2017 ).…”