Intensiveness of Mothering in Contemporary China and Its Relationship with Preschoolers'Social-Emotional Development:The Suppression Effect of Maternal Psychological Well-Being
Intensive parenting is becoming a prevalent parenting style in contemporary China.Parents invest tremendous time,energy,and money in childrearing,whereas the effectiveness of intensive parenting in helping children obtain developmental advantages remains controversial.Using the survey method,the current study investigated 388 mothers of preschoolers in urban Shanghai and Jinan to explore the associations between the intensiveness of mothering,maternal psychological well-being,and preschoolers'social-emotional development.Four distinct patterns of the intensiveness of mothering were identified using latent profile analysis:high endorsement and high practice,medium endorsement and medium practice,low endorsement and low practice,and selective endorsement and practice.Maternal psychological well-being suppressed the relationship between intensiveness of mothering and preschoolers'social-emotional development.On the one hand,intensiveness of mothering was positively related to preschoolers'social-emotional development after excluding the indirect effect of maternal psychological well-being.On the other hand,mothers from profiles showing higher levels of intensiveness had worse psychological well-being,and their preschoolers had lower levels of social-emotional development.The two pathways counteracted each other,resulting in a nonsignificant overall relationship between intensiveness of mothering and preschoolers'social-emotional development.The present study suggests mothers adjust their attitudes and practices toward intensive parenting,actively regulate their psychological well-being,and create a supportive environment for children's social-emotional development.Families,preschools,and society should establish collaborative mechanisms to support mothers'childrearing and relieve their parenting stress.
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