# From family emotions to child competence: unpacking parenting stress's dual role as mediator and moderator in rural China

## TL;DR

This study explores how family emotions and parenting stress affect children's social-emotional skills in rural China, revealing how these factors interact to influence child development.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a moderated chain mediation model to explain how family emotional expression impacts children's social-emotional competence through parenting behaviors.

## Key findings

- Parental impulsivity and acceptance-rejection behaviors mediate the effect of family emotional expression on children's SEC.
- Parenting stress moderates the strength of this mediation, especially in un-left-behind children.
- Left-behind families adapt culturally by suppressing negative emotions, differing from un-left-behind families.

## Abstract

Social-emotional competence (SEC) refers to children's ability to regulate emotions, build positive peer relationships, and engage in effective social interactions, which serves as a core foundation for school readiness and later development. Since SEC has been recognized as a critical component of future talent development, numerous studies have examined the relationship between family emotional expression, parenting behaviors, parent-child interactions, and the development of young children's SEC. Drawing on the theory of mentalizing, this study aims to construct and validate a moderated chain mediation model to investigate the impact of family emotional expression on children's SEC, with a particular focus on the moderating role of parenting stress.

A total of 522 families and their children from three rural counties in western China participated in this study. The children's SEC was assessed using the Bayley-III scale, while parents completed the Family Emotional Expression Questionnaire, Parent Impulsivity Questionnaire, Parent Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, and Parenting Stress Scale. In order to analyze the mediating and moderating effects, SPSS 27.0 and Process were used for statistical processing.

Emotional valence shaped SEC outcomes divergently, with parental impulsivity and acceptance-rejection behaviors sequentially mediating this relationship, particularly in un-left-behind children. Parenting stress mitigated negative emotions' effects on impulsivity while moderating mediation strength. Left-behind families exhibited cultural adaptation through suppressed negative emotional expression, contrasting with un-left-behind dynamics.

These findings underscore the critical role of fostering a positive family emotional climate in promoting children's SEC development. From the perspective of ecosystem theory, parents should provide a good family environment for preschool children, so as to improve their emotional awareness and emotional expression, and ultimately improve their socio-emotional ability.