In a recent study published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communicationresearchers investigated the potential association between maternal depression and children's behavioral self-regulation through potential mediators such as family screen time and supportive parenting.
They found that the effect of maternal depression on children's behavioral self-regulation was partially mediated by both mothers' supportive parenting and children's screen time, suggesting that parenting in early childhood development He emphasized the importance of practice.
study: Maternal depression and children's behavioral self-regulation: The role of parenting and children's screen time.. Image credit: dotshock/Shutterstock.com
background
Behavioral self-regulation, a critical skill for children's learning and later school success, is influenced by a variety of environmental factors, including adult-child interactions. Maternal mental health and parenting behaviors have been shown to play an important role in shaping children's self-regulation.
Maternal depression is thought to be reflected in greater sadness, irritability, and low mood, leading to poorer quality of child care and influencing children's subsequent self-regulation.
Furthermore, children's family screen time has emerged as a predictor of self-regulation, and excessive screen exposure may mediate the relationship between maternal depression and children's behavioral self-regulation.
A theoretical framework based on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory emphasizes the importance of social interaction in early childhood development and emphasizes the need to balance face-to-face engagement with screen time.
Researchers in this study investigated the interaction between maternal depression, parenting behaviors, children's family screen time, and behavioral self-regulation in the Chinese home environment.
They hypothesized that maternal depression may negatively predict behavioral self-regulation in Chinese children. This study aimed to investigate direct and mediated pathways and address gaps in the literature.
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The study involved 653 participants (338 boys and 315 girls) with a mean age of 5.94 years and their mothers with a mean age of 31.56 years. Participants were drawn from diverse socio-economic regions of China using a stratified random sampling approach.
Approximately 62.6% of the children were from urban areas. Seventy-eight percent of the mothers' girlfriends had an associate's degree or higher, while 7% of the mothers were stay-at-home moms.
Maternal depression was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), which demonstrated good psychometric properties. Mothers' supportive parenting behaviors were assessed using the Child Care Practice Report (CRPR, Chinese version) and showed high reliability.
Children's family screen time was measured using a global estimate that captures a wide variety of screen-based activities. Children's behavioral self-regulation was assessed using the Child Self-Regulation Interaction Scale (CSIS), which has strong psychometric properties, including working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility.
Demographic information such as age, gender, place of residence, and parental occupation were collected through a questionnaire.
The analysis includes three stages. Obtaining descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations, evaluating hypothesized models (n = 4) using structural equation modeling (SEM), and estimating indirect effects by bootstrapping.
Maternal depression was the independent variable and child behavioral self-regulation was the dependent variable. Children's screen time and mothers' cooperative parenting were treated as potential mediators.
Behavioral self-control was treated as a latent construct in the SEM. Demographic variables were included as controls. Model fit was assessed using various indicators.
Results and discussion
The study observed significant correlations between key variables, supporting the subsequent SEM analysis. The three-factor structure of behavioral self-regulation was tested by confirmatory factor analysis.
The results revealed a direct positive association between maternal depression and children's self-regulation (p<0.001). Maternal depression was also found to negatively (and significantly) predict supportive parenting, thereby influencing children's screen time and self-regulation.
This indicates that children with depressed mothers may spend more time on screens at home and have lower levels of self-regulation.
Children's screen time was found to be significantly associated with self-regulation, with children with more screen time more likely to have poor behavioral self-regulation.
Furthermore, we observed a significant indirect effect of maternal depression influencing children's self-regulation through supportive parenting. A sequential mediation model incorporating both supportive parenting and screen time was found to best explain the association and show the best fit.
Overall, this comprehensive analysis highlights the complex pathways through which maternal depression influences children's behavioral self-regulation. We discuss the importance of considering parenting practices and screen time in understanding these dynamics.
However, this study is limited by the absence of children's pretest self-regulation scores, which may bias the effects of maternal depression and parenting.
Additionally, the cross-sectional design limits the establishment of causal relationships. Future research should incorporate pretest scores and use objective measures of self-regulation.
conclusion
In conclusion, this study demonstrates the importance of maternal mental health in early childhood education and care. This work highlights the effects of maternal depression on children, mediated by parenting practices and family screen time.
Strengthening maternal mental health is critical to promoting positive face-to-face interactions and fostering a harmonious family environment, which ultimately contributes to the self-regulation of children's behavior. .
