1.Effect of maternal emotional symptoms on emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children
ZHU Min, ZHA Jinhong, JIA Liyuan, LI Ruoyu, YU Min, HE Haiyan, WAN Yuhui
Chinese Journal of School Health 2024;45(7):993-997
Objective:
To explore the mediating role of psychological and physical aggression in the association between maternal emotional symptoms with emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children, so as to provide references for effective intervention of risk factors related to childrens emotional and behavioral problems.
Methods:
A longitudinal study was conducted to select 12 kindergarten children and their mothers in Wuhu City, Anhui Province by using stratified clustering sampling. The baseline survey was carried out in June 2021, followed up every six months, and a total of 3 followups were administered. Totally 853 valid questionnaires of junior class children were included by the survey data from baseline, second and thirl followups. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to measure maternal emotional symptoms, psychological and physical aggression, and childrens emotional and behavioral problems, respectively.
Results:
The physical aggression of mothers towards children in boys was higher than in girls (t=3.53, P<0.05). The results of correlation analysis showed that maternal depressive symptoms were positively correlated with psychological aggression, physical aggression and childrens SDQ scores (r=0.20, 0.21, 0.18, P<0.01), maternal anxiety symptoms were positively correlated with psychological aggression, physical aggression and childrens SDQ scores (r=0.24, 0.22, 0.10, P<0.01), respectively; maternal stress symptoms were positively correlated with psychological aggression, physical aggression. The SDQ scores were positively correlated (r=0.26, 0.25, 0.18, P<0.01), and the scores of maternal psychological aggression and physical aggression were positively correlated with the SDQ scores of children (r=0.12, 0.16, P<0.01). The mediating analysis showed that after controlling for related confounding factors, psychological aggression played a partial mediating effect in the association between maternal depressive symptoms and childrens emotional and behavioral problems, and the mediating effect ratio was 8.05%. Physical aggression played a partial mediating effect in the association between maternal depression, anxiety and stress symptoms and childrens emotional and behavioral problems, which were 15.94%, 11.73% and 12.54% (P<0.05), respectively.
Conclusions
Psychological and physical aggression play mediating roles in the association between maternal emotional symptoms and childrens emotional and behavioral problems, and actively improving maternal emotional symptoms and their childrens discipline methods can help reduce the occurrence of emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children.