IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2022i1p427-d1016379.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Mothers’ Perceived Unsupportive Intergenerational Co-Parenting on Children’s Social Competence: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Xinpei Xu

    (Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China)

  • Lihong Song

    (Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China)

  • Xiaoyun Li

    (Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China)

  • Yan Li

    (Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China)

Abstract

This study examined whether parenting styles mediated the relationship between unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting and children’s social competence, and whether the first stage of the mediating process, as well as the direct association between unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting and children’s social competence, was moderated by maternal psychological flexibility. The theoretical model was tested using data collected from 412 mothers of children aged 3–6 years at four kindergartens in Shanghai, China. The results showed that: (1) unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting was negatively associated with children’s social competence through decreased maternal authoritative parenting and increased authoritarian parenting and (2) the first stage of the mediation mechanism was moderated by maternal psychological flexibility. Specifically, unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting was significantly associated with authoritative and authoritarian parenting for mothers with low and high psychological flexibility, respectively, and the magnitude of the association was higher for mothers with low psychological flexibility. These findings extend the understanding of how and when unsupportive intergenerational co-parenting impacts children’s social competence.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinpei Xu & Lihong Song & Xiaoyun Li & Yan Li, 2022. "The Impact of Mothers’ Perceived Unsupportive Intergenerational Co-Parenting on Children’s Social Competence: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2022:i:1:p:427-:d:1016379
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/427/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/427/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xia, Xiaoying, 2020. "Parenting style and Chinese children’s school readiness outcomes: The moderating role of socioeconomic status," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    2. Luo, Yuhan & Qi, Mengdi & Huntsinger, Carol S. & Zhang, Qin & Xuan, Xin & Wang, Yun, 2020. "Grandparent involvement and preschoolers’ social adjustment in Chinese three-generation families: Examining moderating and mediating effects," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    3. Li, Xiaowei & Liu, Qianqian, 2020. "Parent–grandparent coparenting relationship, marital conflict and parent–child relationship in Chinese parent–grandparent coparenting families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Natasha Pilkauskas & Melissa Martinson, 2014. "Three-generation family households in early childhood: Comparisons between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(60), pages 1639-1652.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Patty Doran & Paul Bradshaw & Susan Morton & El-Shadan Tautolo & James Williams & Chris Cunningham, 2020. "Growing up Healthy in Families Across the Globe: Cross-Cultural Harmonisation of Childhood Risk-Factors Using Longitudinal Studies from Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(6), pages 1921-1935, December.
    2. Qiling Lu & Jing Hua, 2023. "Micro-Household Human Capital Investment Decisions and a Simulation Study from the Intergenerational Conflict Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Antti O. Tanskanen & Mirkka Danielsbacka, 2017. "Association Between Grandparental Co-Residence and Early Childhood Injury in the UK," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(3), pages 825-837, September.
    4. Harkness, Susan, 2022. "The accumulation of disadvantage: how motherhood and relationship breakdown influence married and single mothers’ economic outcomes," ISER Working Paper Series 2022-03, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    5. Hexin Yang & Chaoyue Wu & Ji-Kang Chen, 2022. "Interparental and Intergenerational Co-parenting Conflict and Adolescent Academic Performance: The Mediating Roles of Adolescent Academic Engagement and Depression," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-10, November.
    6. Wang, Xinghua & Zhang, Mengmeng & Yu, Yiqing & Hu, Biying & Yang, Xiantong, 2021. "Extending the theory of planned behavior to examine Chinese parents’ intention to use child care services for children under age 3," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    7. Tu, Bin & Chen, Yafan & Cheung, Shannon & Huang, Can & Huang, Chien-Chung, 2021. "The effects of an innovative caregiver education program on knowledge of child development in China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Jan E. Mutchler & Nidya Velasco Roldán, 2023. "Economic Resources Shaping Grandparent Responsibility Within Three-Generation Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 461-472, June.
    9. Peter D. Brandon & Danielle George-Lucas & Oleg Ivashchenko, 2022. "How architectural principles can help conceptualize and analyze breakups among intergenerational households," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Haenim Lee, 2023. "Determinants of Living in a Three-Generation Household among Adolescents of Ethnic Groups in the U.S.: Family Structure, Social–Economic Status, and Cultural Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-10, July.
    11. Elizabeth Anne Bardoel & Robert Drago, 2016. "Lifetime probabilities of multigenerational caregiving and labor force attachment in Australia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(52), pages 1537-1548.
    12. Rachel Margolis & Ashton M. Verdery, 2019. "A Cohort Perspective on the Demography of Grandparenthood: Past, Present, and Future Changes in Race and Sex Disparities in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1495-1518, August.
    13. Connie Qun Guan & Youjia Wang & Yao Wang, 2022. "Grandparenting Role on Math Online Learning in Chinese Multigenerational Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-18, September.
    14. Ian Lundberg, 2020. "Does Opportunity Skip Generations? Reassessing Evidence From Sibling and Cousin Correlations," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1193-1213, August.
    15. Simon Chapman & Mirkka Danielsbacka & Antti O Tanskanen & Mirkka Lahdenperä & Jenni Pettay & Virpi Lummaa, 2023. "Grandparental co-residence and grandchild survival: the role of resource competition in a pre-industrial population," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(3), pages 446-456.
    16. Anna Bartczak & Wiktor Budziński & Susan Chilton & Rebecca McDonald & Jytte Seested Nielsen, 2021. "Altruism and efficient allocations in three-generation households," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 113-135, April.
    17. Nina A. Stoddard-Bennett & Jordan Coburn & Mikaela J. Dufur & Jonathan A. Jarvis & Shana L. Pribesh, 2023. "Family Structure and Child Behavior Problems in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-24, January.
    18. Mirkka Danielsbacka & Lenka Křenková & Antti O. Tanskanen, 2022. "Grandparenting, health, and well-being: a systematic literature review," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 341-368, September.
    19. Jingying He & Jia Wang, 2021. "When Does It Matter? The Effect of Three-generational Household Arrangement on Children’s Well-Being across Developmental Stages," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(6), pages 2471-2493, December.
    20. Mariana Amorim & Rachel Dunifon & Natasha Pilkauskas, 2017. "The magnitude and timing of grandparental coresidence during childhood in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(52), pages 1695-1706.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2022:i:1:p:427-:d:1016379. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.