2025 Volume 36 Issue 2 Pages 57-67
Social support reportedly plays an important role in reducing parenting stress caused by children’s problematic behaviors; however, the investigation of this phenomenon among Chinese parents in Japan is lacking. The current study empirically examines a hypothesized model in which the problematic behaviors of children of Chinese nationals living in Japan influence parenting stress, with social support acting as a mediator in this relationship. Toward this end, researchers distributed questionnaires to parents of 43 and 194 Chinese children with disability and typical development, respectively, in Japan. Correlation and mediation analyses indicated a positive correlation between internalizing and externalizing problems and parenting stress, whereas prosocial behavior was negatively correlated with parenting stress. Furthermore, multigroup analysis was conducted for the disability and typical development groups. The results indicated that externalizing problems in children from both groups were linked to parenting stress, with social support acting as the mediator. Additionally, bootstrap analysis confirmed that social support only indirectly mediated the relationship between children’s externalizing problems and parental stress. In summary, the findings imply that children’s externalizing problems and social support play crucial roles in alleviating stress among Chinese parents living in Japan.
【Research Impact】
This study examines the relationship between parenting stress and children’s problematic behaviors, with social support acting as a mediator, among Chinese parents in Japan, particularly focusing on children with disability and typical development. The results reveal that social support mediates the relationship between parenting stress and children’s externalizing problems regardless of developmental status. These findings emphasize the importance of tailored social support for immigrant families and offer practical guidance for the reduction of parenting stress among this demographic.
