Open Access

ARTICLE

Pilot Study of a School-Based Parenting Intervention: Prevention of Emotional and Behavioral Problems among Chinese Children

Jin Peng, Jiabei He^*, Na Li^*

School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710000, China

* Corresponding Authors: Jiabei He. Email: ; Na Li. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Applying Cross-Cultural Parenting Insights to Prevent Childhood Trauma: Challenges, Strategies, and Outcomes)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2025, 27(7), 953-977. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2025.066405

Received 08 April 2025; Accepted 24 June 2025; Issue published 31 July 2025

Abstract

Background: Parenting exerts a profound influence on children’s mental health and behavioral development. Despite the high prevalence of children’s emotional and behavioral problems (CEBP) in China, evidence-based parenting interventions remain scarcely investigated as preventive public health strategies. This pilot study evaluated a school-based intervention for preventing CEBP. Methods: We employed a quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching (PSM) to select 28 families (intervention: n = 13; control: n = 15) from two matched urban primary schools. Quantitative data from seven validated scales were analyzed using t-tests and ANCOVA. Qualitative insights were derived from 10 semi-structured interviews via thematic analysis. Results: Compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in CEBP (p = 0.020, Cohen’s d = 0.92), parental adjustment (p = 0.031, Cohen’s d = 0.80), parenting confidence (p = 0.003, Cohen’s d = 1.04), and parent-child relationships (p = 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.46). Non-significant effects were observed for parenting style, parental relationship, and parenting conflict (p > 0.05). Qualitative analysis corroborated these findings and further identified contributing factors for non-significant outcomes, including challenges with measurement adaptability and inconsistent co-parenting practices. Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that an authoritative parenting style may be effective and culturally adaptable in China. Positive parenting interventions appear to mitigate CEBP by reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors. However, improving parental relationships and parenting conflict may require targeted strategies. Given the pilot nature of this PSM-matched study (n = 28), the findings should be interpreted as exploratory and used primarily for intervention refinement.

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