BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.11, No.1, 2022 1469 

 

 

 

 

The Influence of Mothers’ Perception of Co-parenting 

on Preschoolers’ Behavioral Problems: A Moderated 

Mediation Model 

By Liu, X., & Li, Y. 
Correspondence to: Yan Li, Shanghai Normal University, China. E-mail: 

liyan@shnu.edu.cn 

HIS study published in Psychological Development and Education un-

dertook a one-year panel survey of 170 five-year-old children in 2 kin-

dergartens of Shanghai and their mothers to examine the relationship of chil-

dren’s behavioral problems with co-parenting, parents’ marital conflicts, and 

children’s psychological resilience through questionnaire investigation. Ac-

cording to the research theme, the study puts forward the following hypothe-

ses: 1. Marital conflicts mediate the relationship between co-parenting and 

children’s behaviors. 2. Children’s psychological resilience moderates the 

mediation role of marital conflicts in the relationship of mothers’ perceived 

co-parenting and children’s behavioral problems and moderates the second 

half of the mediating path. The results of the study are as follows. 

 The regression analysis shows that mothers’ perceived co-parenting 

has a significant effect on children’s behavioral problems (β = -0.17, 

t = -2.40, 95% CI [-0.31, -0.03]); The interaction between mothers’ 

perceived co-parenting and children’s psychological resilience is not 

significantly correlated with children’s behavioral problems (β = 

0.09, t = 1.47, 95% CI [-0.03,0.21]). The direct effects of mothers’ 

perceived co-parenting on children’s behavioral problems are not 

mediated by children’s resilience. 

 The regression analysis also indicates that the direct effect of moth-

ers’ perceived co-parenting on children’s behavioral problems is 

significant, and so is the indirect effect of mother’s perceived co-

parenting on children’s behavior problems mediated by marital con-

flicts (a*b = -0.09, SE = 0.03, 95% CI [-0.16, -0.04]. This confirms 

that Hypothesis 1 holds, that is, marital conflicts play a mediating 

role between mothers’ perceived co-parenting and children’s behav-

ioral problems. 

 The results obtained by a moderated intermediary model: the moth-

ers’ perceived co-parenting negatively predicts marital conflicts; 

marital conflicts significantly and positively predict children’s be-

T 

mailto:liyan@shnu.edu.cn


 

Vol.11, No.1, 2022 1470 

havioral problems; children’s psychological resilience has a negative 

effect on their behavioral problems. The interaction between parents’ 

marital conflicts and children’s psychological resilience significantly 

predicts children’s behavioral problems. The results verify Hypothe-

sis 2. 

 Parents’ marital conflicts have a significant positive predictive effect 

on behavioral problems of children with low psychological resili-

ence (b = 0.40, SE = 0.10, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.20, 0.59]). The 

fiercer the marital conflicts, the more behavioral problems the chil-

dren have; the positive predictive effect of marital conflicts is not 

significant on behavioral problems of children with high psycholog-

ical resilience (b = 0.04, SE = 0.09, p > 0.05, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.21]). 

This result suggests that high psychological resilience of children 

can mitigate the negative effects of marital conflicts on their behav-

iors. 

 5. Child psychological resilience also mediates mothers’ perceived 

co-parenting through the indirect predictive effect of marital con-

flicts on children’s behavioral problems. The adjusted mediation co-

efficient was 0.08, 95% CI [0.04, 0.13]. For children with low psy-

chological resilience, the indirect effect of their mothers’ perceived 

co-parenting on their behavioral problems is significant, and the co-

efficient is -0.14, 95% CI [- 0.24, - 0.08]; for individuals with high 

psychological resilience (psychological resilience of one standard 

deviation above the mean), the indirect effect of their mothers’ per-

ceived co-parenting on their behavioral problems is not significant, 

with a coefficient of 0.01, 95% CI [-0.04, 0.08]. 

The following implications are proposed: 1) In the family, the hus-

band and wife should consciously coordinate with each other in parenting 

and improve their marital relationship to promote children’s social adaptation 

and reduce children’s behavioral problems. 2) Schools and families can uti-

lize psychological resilience trainings to enhance children’s resilient compe-

tence (such as promoting self-esteem and self-confidence to enhance chil-

dren’s self-efficacy, improving children’s emotion regulation ability, devel-

oping children’s cooperation and communication skills, improving problem-

solving, etc.) and promote their self-protection capability. 

 
Source: Psychological Development and Education, 2022; 2022(5):626-634.