Two-child mothers' parenting stress and children's social competence: a chain mediating model

Since 2011, China has gradually moved from a one-child policy to a comprehensive two-child policy, and this year implemented a three-child policy. In this context, the situation faced by parents has also changed, which has led to more pressure to raise children. This study explored the relationships among mothers' parenting stress, maternal warmth, preschool children's social competence, and their sibling relationships. Whether the pressure affect social competence, and whether the sibling relationships and maternal warmth play a chain-mediating role in the relationships. In this study, data were collected in two periods. The second survey was conducted one year later. This study included 180 preschool children and their mothers. The results revealed that mothers' parenting stress negatively predicted children's social competence and behavior. Sibling relationships and maternal warmth had a significant chain mediation effect on mothers' parenting stress and children's sensitive cooperation and anger attacks. The results suggests mothers' parenting stress increased, the maternal warmth behavior decreased, sibling hostility increased, then children expressed less sensitive cooperation and increased anger and aggressive behavior.