TY  - EJOU
AU  - Li, Ruiqian 
AU  - Zheng, Peibing 
AU  - Yan, Mengxin 
AU  - Zhou, Xinyi 
AU  - Wu, Ziyu 
AU  - Wang, Yiting 

TI  - Fathers’ overprotective parenting and young children’s problem behaviors: Mediating by mothers’ overprotective attitudes and parenting stress
T2  - Journal of Psychology in Africa

PY  - 2025
VL  - 35
IS  - 5
SN  - 1815-5626

AB  - This study examined the relationship between paternal overprotective parenting and problem behaviors of preschool children, and maternal overprotective attitudes and parenting stress mediation of that relationship. Data were collected from 265 families, including parents and preschool children (ages 3–6). The results revealed that paternal overprotective attitudes significantly influenced maternal overprotective attitudes and maternal parenting stress. Maternal overprotective attitudes, in turn, increased maternal parenting stress, exacerbated children’s problem behaviors. Paternal overprotective attitudes indirectly contributed to these behaviors through both maternal overprotective attitudes and parenting stress. The effect was more pronounced on boy than girl younger than older preschoolers. These findings are explained by the family systems theory through the mechanism of interconnected parental subsystems, wherein paternal overprotection triggers maternal stress and overprotective attitudes, ultimately affecting child behaviors. Healthy parenting would entail psychologically safe paternal overprotection, lower maternal stress, and promoting autonomy-supportive parenting practices to reduce the risk of problem behaviors in preschool children.
KW  - parental overprotective attitudes; maternal parenting stress; children’s problem behaviors; family systems theory; gender and age differences

DO  - 10.32604/jpa.2025.069421