Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1430005

Child-friendly Family Reduces Parenting Stress in Chinese Families: The Mediating Role of Family Resilience

Provisionally accepted
Amanda M. Y. Chu Amanda M. Y. Chu 1*Jenny T. Y Tsang Jenny T. Y Tsang 2Agnes Tiwari Agnes Tiwari 3Helina Yuk Helina Yuk 4Mike K. P. So Mike K. P. So 5
  • 1 The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 2 Tung Wah College, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 3 Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 4 The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Region, China
  • 5 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The increasing prevalence of parenting stress has significant implications for the psychological well-being of both parents and children. In view of this, our study sought to examine the mediating and moderating role of family resilience in the association between child-friendly family and parenting stress. Our analysis involved a sample of 316 parents who dedicated a minimum of 14 hours per week to caring for their children. The parents were invited to complete three validated instruments-the parenting stress index short form (PSI), the family resilience assessment scale (FRAS), and inventory of the child-friendly family (ICF)-to evaluate their level of parenting stress, family resilience, and child-friendly family, respectively. We tested the mediation model by applying structural equation model analysis.It was found that child-friendly family negatively correlated with parenting stress (path coefficient = -0.56, p < .001). This relationship is mediated by family resilience. That is "childfriendly family" leads to increased "family resilience" (path coefficient = .68, p < .01), which in turn leads to lower "parenting stress" (path coefficient = -.30, p < .05). The mediation effect ratio was 26.70%. We used multiple regression analysis to test the moderation model and found that family resilience did not play a moderating role between child-friendly family and parenting stress. This study holds particular significance for two key reasons: Firstly, it elucidates the relationship between child-friendly family, family resilience, and parenting stress, highlighting the potential of creating a child-friendly family to reduce parenting stress through the enhancement of family resilience. Secondly, our findings provide valuable evidence for the development of innovative approaches that effectively and sustainably alleviate parenting stress.

    Keywords: child-friendly family, parenting stress, family resilience, Mediating effect, Moderating effect, Parent-child relationship, Structural Equation Modeling

    Received: 09 May 2024; Accepted: 27 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chu, Tsang, Tiwari, Yuk and So. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Amanda M. Y. Chu, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong, SAR China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.