2021年3月
Parental psychological condition and parenting behaviour mediate the associations between childcare support and child social development in Japan
The 15th European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference (EHBEA 2021 DIGITAL)
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- 記述言語
- 英語
- 会議種別
- ポスター発表
- 開催地
- オンライン
Objective:
A variety of support from others is crucial for child-rearing in humans. It can be predicted that childcare support will improve both children’s and parents’ outcomes, but the pathways behind the associations have not been sufficiently examined. This study investigates the associations among (1) childcare support (partner’s childcare participation, support from children’s grandparents, and support from non-kin), (2) child social development (social and problem behaviour), (3) parental psychological condition (stress and depression), and (4) parenting behaviour (care and abuse). We primarily aim to test a hypothesis that the association between childcare support and child social development can be mediated by parental psychological condition and parenting behaviour.
Methods:
We analysed data from an online questionnaire survey in Japan in 2016. The subjects were 618 parent couples of three- to five-year old children. The path analysis was adopted to capture the complex associations among factors surrounding childcare.
Results:
Variables on childcare support were associated with child social development, both directly and indirectly through parental psychological condition and parenting behaviour. In the direct paths, contrary to our prediction, greater availability of support was related to lower levels of child social development. The indirect paths supported our mediation hypothesis. In the pathways, there were some differences between mothers and fathers.
Conclusions:
This study has shown novel information on childcare support and its direct and indirect associations with both children’s and parents’ outcomes in Japan.
A variety of support from others is crucial for child-rearing in humans. It can be predicted that childcare support will improve both children’s and parents’ outcomes, but the pathways behind the associations have not been sufficiently examined. This study investigates the associations among (1) childcare support (partner’s childcare participation, support from children’s grandparents, and support from non-kin), (2) child social development (social and problem behaviour), (3) parental psychological condition (stress and depression), and (4) parenting behaviour (care and abuse). We primarily aim to test a hypothesis that the association between childcare support and child social development can be mediated by parental psychological condition and parenting behaviour.
Methods:
We analysed data from an online questionnaire survey in Japan in 2016. The subjects were 618 parent couples of three- to five-year old children. The path analysis was adopted to capture the complex associations among factors surrounding childcare.
Results:
Variables on childcare support were associated with child social development, both directly and indirectly through parental psychological condition and parenting behaviour. In the direct paths, contrary to our prediction, greater availability of support was related to lower levels of child social development. The indirect paths supported our mediation hypothesis. In the pathways, there were some differences between mothers and fathers.
Conclusions:
This study has shown novel information on childcare support and its direct and indirect associations with both children’s and parents’ outcomes in Japan.