Parenting styles across generations and children’s social-emotional development: The mediating role of caregivers’ mental health

Abstract

Parenting styles play a pivotal role in formulating effective family policies to support early childhood development, with enduring intergenerational implications for children’s outcomes. Drawing on survey data from children aged 6–24 months and their primary caregivers, this study investigates whether the mental health of the second generation (G2) mediates the relationship between the parenting styles of the first generation (G1) and the social-emotional development of children in the third or fourth generation (G3/G4). In a three-generation model, gendered parenting by G1 predicts warm parenting behaviors in G2, whereas hostile parenting by G2 negatively affects the social-emotional competence of G3. In the four-generation model, overprotective parenting by G1 exerts an indirect effect on social-emotional problems in G4, mediated by G2’s mental health. Notably, the positive influence of protective parenting by G1 fathers diminishes with lower educational attainment in G2, while the adverse effects of protective parenting by G1 mothers intensify with higher G2 education. These findings underscore the importance of early preventive interventions to improve caregivers’ mental health and parenting practices during early childhood.