Leung JTY. Overparenting, Parent-Child Conflict and Anxiety among Chinese Adolescents: A
Cross-Lagged Panel Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;
18:ijerph182211887. [PMID:
34831641 PMCID:
PMC8622127 DOI:
10.3390/ijerph182211887]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Overparenting is an emerging parenting style in which parents over-protect their children from difficulties and challenges by intruding into their lives and providing extensive assistance to them. Unfortunately, longitudinal studies related to overparenting were severely lacking, particularly on its impacts on early adolescents. Moreover, studies examining the mediational pathways through which overparenting is associated with adolescent anxiety are scant. This study examined the mediating role of parent-child conflict (father-child and mother-child) in the relationship between overparenting (paternal and maternal) and adolescent anxiety over time.
METHOD
Based on a three-wave longitudinal data of 1074 Chinese early adolescents in Hong Kong, the relationships among paternal and maternal overparenting, father- and mother-child conflict, and adolescent anxiety were assessed.
RESULTS
Mother-child conflict mediated the relationship between maternal overparenting and adolescent anxiety over time. Besides, a reverse association of prior adolescent anxiety with subsequent maternal overparenting via mother-child conflict was also identified. In addition, adolescent gender and family intactness did not moderate the relationships among overparenting, parent-child conflict, and adolescent anxiety.
DISCUSSION
This present study identified that the bidirectional relationship between maternal overparenting and adolescent anxiety via mother-child conflict over time, which sheds new light on the study of overparenting on adolescent well-being in the Chinese communities.
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