Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background This study examined the relationship between parents’ perceived social support and their children’s psychological adjustment. Methods This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 52 kindergartens and 78 preschools in Nagoya, Aichi, a major metropolitan area in Japan. Parent...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rikuya Hosokawa, Toshiki Katsura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:BMC Pediatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-024-05235-7
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850128960102334464
author Rikuya Hosokawa
Toshiki Katsura
author_facet Rikuya Hosokawa
Toshiki Katsura
author_sort Rikuya Hosokawa
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background This study examined the relationship between parents’ perceived social support and their children’s psychological adjustment. Methods This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 52 kindergartens and 78 preschools in Nagoya, Aichi, a major metropolitan area in Japan. Parents of eighth-grade children aged 13–14 years (N = 1,195) completed a questionnaire. A total of 602 valid responses were received. To accurately assess the relationship between parents’ perceived social support and behavioral characteristics, respondents diagnosed with a developmental disability or who failed to answer the required questionnaire items were excluded from the analysis. Consequently, 536 (89.0%) of the 602 participants met the eligibility criteria. Results The results indicated that the stronger the social support for parents, the lower the scores for externalizing and internalizing problems, and the higher the scores for prosociality. Conversely, insufficient social support may pose a risk to parental mental health and lead to suboptimal parenting practices. Issues in parental mental health adversely affect parenting, leading to fewer positive interactions with young children, increased rates of negative interactions and hostility, diminished communication, and delayed responses to children’s behaviors. Conclusions These results underscore the significant influence of parents’ perceptions of social support on their parenting beliefs and behaviors, which may, in turn, affect the development of their children’s mental health. Therefore, parents’ perceptions of social support are likely positively associated with children’s mental health.
format Article
id doaj-art-d08b9650d34c4ed9992941b6a02e9fa7
institution OA Journals
issn 1471-2431
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Pediatrics
spelling doaj-art-d08b9650d34c4ed9992941b6a02e9fa72025-08-20T02:33:08ZengBMCBMC Pediatrics1471-24312024-11-012411710.1186/s12887-024-05235-7Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional studyRikuya Hosokawa0Toshiki Katsura1Department of Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto UniversityDepartment of Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto UniversityAbstract Background This study examined the relationship between parents’ perceived social support and their children’s psychological adjustment. Methods This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 52 kindergartens and 78 preschools in Nagoya, Aichi, a major metropolitan area in Japan. Parents of eighth-grade children aged 13–14 years (N = 1,195) completed a questionnaire. A total of 602 valid responses were received. To accurately assess the relationship between parents’ perceived social support and behavioral characteristics, respondents diagnosed with a developmental disability or who failed to answer the required questionnaire items were excluded from the analysis. Consequently, 536 (89.0%) of the 602 participants met the eligibility criteria. Results The results indicated that the stronger the social support for parents, the lower the scores for externalizing and internalizing problems, and the higher the scores for prosociality. Conversely, insufficient social support may pose a risk to parental mental health and lead to suboptimal parenting practices. Issues in parental mental health adversely affect parenting, leading to fewer positive interactions with young children, increased rates of negative interactions and hostility, diminished communication, and delayed responses to children’s behaviors. Conclusions These results underscore the significant influence of parents’ perceptions of social support on their parenting beliefs and behaviors, which may, in turn, affect the development of their children’s mental health. Therefore, parents’ perceptions of social support are likely positively associated with children’s mental health.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-024-05235-7Social supportChild mental healthParents’ perceived social supportChild psychological adjustmentParent–child interactions
spellingShingle Rikuya Hosokawa
Toshiki Katsura
Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional study
BMC Pediatrics
Social support
Child mental health
Parents’ perceived social support
Child psychological adjustment
Parent–child interactions
title Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional study
title_full Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional study
title_short Association between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment: a cross-sectional study
title_sort association between parents perceived social support and children s psychological adjustment a cross sectional study
topic Social support
Child mental health
Parents’ perceived social support
Child psychological adjustment
Parent–child interactions
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-024-05235-7
work_keys_str_mv AT rikuyahosokawa associationbetweenparentsperceivedsocialsupportandchildrenspsychologicaladjustmentacrosssectionalstudy
AT toshikikatsura associationbetweenparentsperceivedsocialsupportandchildrenspsychologicaladjustmentacrosssectionalstudy