The Relationship Between Parenting Stress and Social Skills of  Preschool Children

Yuting Han; Kway Eng Hock

doi:10.48165/sajssh.2023.4207

Authors

Yuting Han Department of Social Education, Human Development Faculty, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia.
Kway Eng Hock Department of Social Education, Human Development Faculty, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48165/sajssh.2023.4207

Keywords:

parents, parenting stress, preschool children, social skills

Abstract

Social skills refer to specific task-related behaviors in daily life, such as participating in peer interactions, making friends, or making requests. In early childhood, social skills have a significant impact on their future academic performance, behavior patterns and even mental health. In this quantitative study, a questionnaire survey was conducted, selecting samples from urban kindergartens in Heze City, Shandong Province, China, and collecting a total of 256 valid questionnaires. The results showed that preschoolers' social skills (2.69±0.34, 2.5 is the mean score) were at a medium level and parents' parenting stress (2.34±0.60, 3 is the mean score) were at a medium to low level. Children's social skills differed significantly on the mother's education variable but not on other demographic variables. Children whose mothers' education was undergraduate had better social skills than children whose mothers' education was college, and children whose mothers' education was postgraduate had better social skills than children whose mothers' education was college. There is a significant and negative correlation between children's social skills and parents' parenting stress (correlation coefficient = - 0.171**), and parents' parenting stress was predictive of children's social skills (β= - 0.143). This study may contribute to designing social skills intervention programs for preschool children from the parents' perspective and expand research considerations on social skills interventions.

Author Biography

Yuting Han, Department of Social Education, Human Development Faculty, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Department of Psychological Science, School of Teacher Education, Heze University, Heze, Shandong Province, China.

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