Psychological Development and Education ›› 2024, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (5): 675-686.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2024.05.08

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The Relation between Maternal Depression and Children’s Social Adjustment: The Mediating Roles of Maternal Distress Reaction and Parent-child Conflict

ZHU Jingjing, ZHANG Zhenzhen, LI Yan   

  1. Early Childhood Education College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234
  • Published:2024-09-19

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Abstract: To explore the relationship between maternal depression and children’s social adjustment, as well as the serial mediating effect of maternal distress reaction to children’s negative emotions and parent-child conflict, the present study randomly selected 205 preschoolers from two kindergartens in Shanghai. The results were as follows: (1) Maternal depression significantly and positively predicted children’s emotional symptoms, and significantly and negatively predicted prosocial behaviors; (2) Maternal distress reaction played a fully mediating effect on the relationship between maternal depression and children’s conduct problems; parent-child conflict had a fully mediating effect on the relationship between maternal depression and children’s hyperactive distraction and conduct problems, and had a partial mediating effect on the relation between maternal depression and emotional symptoms; (3) Maternal distress reaction and parent-child conflict had a serial mediating effect in the relation between maternal depression and children’s hyperactive distractibility, emotional symptoms, and conduct problems. The results further revealed the internal mechanisms of the links between maternal depression and young children's social adjustment.

Key words: maternal depression, maternal distress reaction, parent-child conflict, social adjustment, young children

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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