Parenting styles and problem behaviors in Chinese preschoolers: The role of child gender and self-regulation

Abstract

Although previous research has suggested that parenting styles may exert considerable impacts on young children's problem behaviors, limited research has explored the mechanism for this link and the potential child gender difference. A sample of 904 children (M_age = 4.90 years, SD = 1.08) with 449 girls and 455 boys and their parents were recruited from Fuzhou, China. Most of the samples were from middle and high social-economic status (SES) families. Parents completed questionnaires assessing parenting styles, child self-regulation, and child anger-aggression (AA) and anxiety-withdrawal (AW) behaviors. Structural equation and path modeling revealed that: (1) authoritative parenting style was negatively associated with children's AA and AW while authoritarian parenting style was positively associated with children's AA and AW; (2) child self-regulation mediated the relations between both authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles and children's AA and AW; (3) the effect of authoritative parenting on child self-regulation was stronger in boys relative to girls, and the effect of authoritarian parenting on AA was stronger in boys relative to girls. The findings of individual and contextual factors interactively influencing young children's problem behaviors will inform the theoretical development of parental education and related programs to prevent children of different genders from behavioral disorders.