AUTHOR=Wu Lili , Ding Fangyuan , Hu Tianqiang , Cheng Gang , Chen Xiaoyu TITLE=Daily Stress and Behavioral Problems in Chinese Children: The Moderating Roles of Family Functioning and the Classroom Environment JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.742293 DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.742293 ISSN=1664-1078 ABSTRACT=

Grounded in the stress-coping model, our study examined family functioning and the classroom environment as protective factors in the relationship between daily stress and behavioral problems in Chinese children. The participants were 1,450 children (51.7% male, Mage = 10.91 years, SD = 0.96) in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at five schools. The children completed the questionnaires measuring daily stress, family functioning, and the classroom environment. Additionally, their parents rated their behavioral problems. The latent moderated structural (LMS) equation approach was used to test moderator effects. After controlling for sex and grade, our results indicate that daily stress positively predicted the children’s behavioral problems. Both family functioning and the classroom environment moderated the relationship between daily stress and behavioral problems. Further assessment of latent interaction effects indicate that buffering effects on behavioral problems were most prominent in conditions involving low stress. In sum, families and schools should not ignore children’s minor stressors, as interventions involving family functioning and favorable classroom environments may help to reduce behavioral problems in children who report low levels of daily stress.