Child behavioral problems and parental adjustment: Family, interparental, and parent–child processes as simultaneous mediators

This study examined the associations of child behavioral problems with parental adjustment and whether family processes mediated such associations. Cross-sectional data were collected from the fathers, mothers, and class teachers of 186 kindergarten-aged children with special educational needs from Hong Kong, China (mean age = 61.6 months, and 136 of them were boys). Using questionnaires, parents reported their children’s behavioral problems and their own adjustment and family processes. Meanwhile, class teachers rated children’s behavioral problems. Multigroup analyses supported a mediation model that was invariant across fathers and mothers. Controlling for child and family demographic information, child behavioral problems were linked positively to parental depression and negatively to parental life satisfaction. Moreover, the link of child behavioral problems with parental depression was fully mediated by family economic pressures, marital conflict, and parent–child conflict, whereas the link of child behavioral problems with parental life satisfaction was fully mediated by family economic pressures and marital conflict. Theoretically, our findings pointed to the importance of considering multiple family processes in understanding the relationship between child characteristics and parental well-being among families with children with special educational needs. Practically, our findings highlighted the possible utility of equipping fathers and mothers of children with special educational needs with skills to reduce children’s problem behaviors, cope with financial hardship, and manage marital and parent–child conflict. Copyright © 2024 Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice.