Published online Jul 26, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i21.4642
Revised: May 24, 2024
Accepted: June 7, 2024
Published online: July 26, 2024
Processing time: 70 Days and 4.3 Hours
Studies have revealed that Children's psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems are easily influenced by the family environment. In recent years, the family structure in China has undergone significant changes, with more families having two or three children.
To explore the relationship between emotional behavior and parental job stress in only preschool and non-only preschool children.
Children aged 3-6 in kindergartens in four main urban areas of Shijiazhuang were selected by stratified sampling for a questionnaire and divided into only and non-only child groups. Their emotional behaviors and parental pressure were compared. Only and non-only children were paired in a 1:1 ratio by class and age (difference less than or equal to 6 months), and the matched data were compared. The relationship between children's emotional behavior and parents' job stress before and after matching was analyzed.
Before matching, the mother's occupation, children's personality characteristics, and children's rearing patterns differed between the groups (P < 0.05). After matching 550 pairs, differences in the children's parenting styles remained. There were significant differences in children's gender and parents' attitudes toward children between the two groups. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores of children in the only child group and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) scores of parents were significantly lower than those in the non-only child group (P < 0.05). Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that after matching, there was a positive correlation between children's parenting style and parents' attitudes toward their children (r = 0.096, P < 0.01), and the PSI-SF score was positively correlated with children's gender, parents' attitudes toward their children, and SDQ scores (r = 0.077, 0.193, 0.172, 0.222).
Preschool children's emotional behavior and parental pressure were significantly higher in multi-child families. Parental pressure in differently structured families was associated with many factors, and preschool children's emotional behavior was positively correlated with parental pressure.
Core Tip: Children's psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems are easily influenced by the family environment. However, most studies have not clearly indicated whether there is a strong influence mechanism between children's behavioral and emotional problems and parents' educational methods. In recent years, with the emergence of second and third children, the family structure of only children in the past few decades has been changed. In this study, we extracted relevant data from 1314 families to further understand the relationship between emotional behavior of children from only child or non only child families and parental work pressure, providing scientific basis for optimizing children's education and family relationships.
- Citation: Fu ZW, Wang KL, Du NY, Li YJ, Duan JJ, Zhao SX. Comparative study on emotional behavior and parental job stress of only-child and non-only-child preschool children. World J Clin Cases 2024; 12(21): 4642-4651
- URL: https://www.wjgnet.com/2307-8960/full/v12/i21/4642.htm
- DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v12.i21.4642
With the rapid global development in recent years, growing attention has been paid to children's psychological behavior and emotions in China and abroad[1,2]. Studies have found that some children develop internalized problems, such as depression and negative anxiety and externalizing problems, such as aggressive behavior and violence against family and animals, due to emotional excitement[3,4]. During the early stages of growth and development, children's psychological, behavioral, and emotional states are sensitive and easily influenced by family environment, among which parents' educational methods are the most critical[5]. Research has shown that children's behavioral and emotional problems primarily come from their parents' compulsory behavior, which leads not only to hostility in children but also to psychological depression and anxiety[6]. Whereas, parents' active participation, support, and encouragement can positively influence their children's aggressive behavior[7,8]. However, most studies do not clearly agree on this topic and fall short of examining whether there is a strong influence mechanism between children’s behavioral and emotional problems and their parents’ educational methods.
To cope with the parental social problems, China formulated the family planning policy in the 1980s, implementing the one-child policy. However, recent changes to the only child family structure that had existed for decades with the introduction of second and third children have begun changing the family structure in China. To ensure that children's mental health is more highly regarded by parents and society across different family types, research has been conducted in varying aspects to observe the relationship between the mental health of only children and that of non-only children and families. Thus, this study aimed to further understand the relationship between the emotional behavior of children from only-child and non-only-child families and their parents' job stress. To do so, the relevant data of 1314 families was sampled, seeking a deep understanding of the influencing mechanisms of different family structures on children's psychological development and parental experience and providing an empirical basis for optimizing children's education and family relations.
Through stratified random sampling, 1314 kindergartners, aged 3-6 years, in four main urban areas of the city of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province (China) were randomly selected for a questionnaire survey. The sample comprised 686 males and 628 females, with average ages of (4.22 ± 1.15) years. The inclusion criteria were: (1) Preschool children aged 3-6 years and their parents from kindergartens in Shijiazhuang; and (2) the parents signing an informed consent form. The exclusion criteria were: (1) Parents with mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia, mania, depression, and other psychotic disorders); (2) children with serious physical ailments; (3) children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD and mental retardation; (4) children with special education needs; and (5) parents who were not willing to participate.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to elucidate the emotional and behavioral problems of preschool children and their parents' parental pressure. First, the kindergarten’s healthcare staff and doctors were systematically trained, and then parents were asked to complete the survey questionnaires. Before the investigation, doctors explained the significance of this study to the parents in detail to ensure their understanding, which is conducive to gaining their cooperation and improving the quality of questionnaire responses. Finally, based on the questionnaire results, the subjects were divided into two groups: only-child and non-only-child.
Investigation of the basic situation of preschool children and their parents: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on basic personal information and family environment. Specific factors, including the children's age, sex, and parity, and the parents’ age, occupation, and educational background were collected. Crucially, the questionnaire also evaluated the family atmosphere, the attitude of the parents and older adults toward children, and the relationship between the husband and wife.
Investigation of preschool children's emotional behavior: The preschool children’s emotional behavior was evaluated using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) developed by American psychologist Robert Goodman[9], which has high reliability and validity and is widely used. It includes 25 items across five subscales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention, peer communication problems, and prosocial behaviors. The score of each item ranges from 0 to 2, and the evaluation criteria are not meeting 0, meeting 1, and meeting 2. Items 7, 11, 14, 21, and 25 are reverse-scored. The scoring criteria are as follows: 0–15 = normal; 16–19 = marginal, and 20–40 = abnormal. Parents evaluated their recent behavior and emotional state based on their usual observations of their children. If the total difficulty score exceeds the normal range or if any of the five key factors are abnormal, the child may encounter emotional and behavioral problems.
Parental stress survey: The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF)[10] was used to investigate parenting pressure among the participating children's parents. The scale comprises 36 items and three subscales. A five-point Likert scoring method was used; the higher the score, the greater the pressure on the parents. A score greater than 90 indicates high parenting pressure. The PSI-SF has been applied in many domestic studies and has high reliability and validity.
The potential confounding factors of the two groups of children were balanced using the tendentiousness score method, and only children and non-only children were paired at a 1:1 ratio according to the same class and age (the difference was less than or equal to six months). After successful matching, the related data of the two groups were analyzed.
The statistical software SPSS version 26.0 was used to analyze the data. Counting data were represented by examples (%), and a χ2 test was used for comparison between groups. The measurement data were expressed as s, and the comparison between groups was a group t-test. Children’s emotional behavior and parents’ job stress scores before and after matching were continuous variables, and a Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between them. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.
Before matching, only the mother's occupation, children's personality characteristics, and children's rearing patterns were significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.05), while the other general data were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Table 1 shows the general data findings.
| General information | Only child group | Non-only group | χ2/t | P value | |
| Age (mean ± SD, years) | 4.23 ± 1.12 | 4.22 ± 1.11 | 0.162 | 0.871 | |
| Child sex | Man | 207 (29.96) | 179 (28.73) | 0.237 | 0.627 |
| Woman | 484 (70.04) | 444 (71.27) | |||
| Parity | 1 time | 273 (39.51) | 234 (37.56) | 0.698 | 0.706 |
| 2 time | 401 (58.03) | 376 (60.35) | |||
| More than 3 | 16 (2.32) | 13 (2.09) | |||
| Mother age (mean ± SD, years) | 36.95 ± 5.17 | 37.11 ± 5.02 | 0.568 | 0.570 | |
| Father's age (mean ± SD, years) | 35.86 ± 4.61 | 36.21 ± 4.45 | 1.397 | 0.163 | |
| Motherhood occupation | Civil servants; teacher | 115 (16.64) | 118 (18.94) | 12.790 | 0.025 |
| Technology; finance; financial worker | 110 (15.91) | 76 (12.20) | |||
| Freelancer; individual operator | 91 (13.17) | 115 (18.46) | |||
| Workers; employees of industrial and commercial enterprises | 111 (16.06) | 107 (17.17) | |||
| Unemployed person | 34 (4.92) | 30 (4.82) | |||
| Other | 230 (33.29) | 177 (28.41) | |||
| Father's occupation | Civil servants; teacher | 141 (20.41) | 141 (22.63) | 5.787 | 0.328 |
| Technology; finance; financial worker | 94 (13.60) | 63 (10.11) | |||
| Freelancer; individual operator | 143 (20.69) | 145 (23.27) | |||
| Workers; employees of industrial and commercial enterprises | 122 (17.66) | 106 (17.01) | |||
| Unemployed person | 11 (1.59) | 13 (2.09) | |||
| Other | 180 (26.05) | 155 (24.88) | |||
| Mother education | Junior high school and below | 19 (2.75) | 18 (2.89) | 5.590 | 0.232 |
| High school or technical secondary school | 69 (9.99) | 72 (11.56) | |||
| Universities and colleges | 219 (31.69) | 164 (26.32) | |||
| Undergraduate course | 312 (45.15) | 309 (49.60) | |||
| Master degree or above | 72 (10.85) | 60 (9.63) | |||
| Father's education | Junior high school and below | 19 (2.75) | 15 (2.41) | 4.729 | 0.316 |
| High school or technical secondary school | 75 (10.85) | 88 (14.13) | |||
| Universities and colleges | 227 (32.85) | 201 (32.26) | |||
| Undergraduate course | 312 (45.15) | 279 (44.78) | |||
| Master degree or above | 58 (8.39) | 40 (6.42) | |||
| Family type | Nuclear family (parents and children) | 390 (56.44) | 340 (49.06) | 1.862 | 0.602 |
| Single parent | 10 (1.45) | 9 (1.30) | |||
| Of three generations under one roof | 281 (40.67) | 259 (37.37) | |||
| Other | 10 (1.45) | 15 (2.16) | |||
| Main caregivers | Mother | 494 (71.49) | 479 (76.89) | 5.141 | 0.162 |
| Father | 47 (6.80) | 33 (5.30) | |||
| Grandparents or grandparents | 147 (21.27) | 108 (17.34) | |||
| Housemaid | 3 (0.43) | 3 (0.48) | |||
| Parents' attitude towards children's discipline | Highly consistent | 173 (25.04) | 165 (23.81) | 0.642 | 0.726 |
| Basically the same | 503 (72.79) | 442 (63.78) | |||
| Basically different | 15 (2.17) | 16 (2.31) | |||
| The attitude of the elderly and parents towards children's discipline | Highly consistent | 22 (3.18) | 18 (2.60) | 1.468 | 0.480 |
| Basically the same | 279 (40.38) | 272 (39.25) | |||
| Basically different | 390 (56.44) | 333 (48.05) | |||
| Proportion of children's expenses | One fifth or less | 158 (22.87) | 150 (21.65) | 5.982 | 0.113 |
| One quarter | 242 (35.02) | 202 (29.15) | |||
| One third | 193 (27.93) | 203 (29.29) | |||
| A half | 98 (14.18) | 68 (9.81) | |||
| Family atmosphere | Very harmonious | 297 (42.98) | 305 (48.96) | 8.063 | 0.089 |
| Good | 294 (42.55) | 250 (40.13) | |||
| Common | 97 (14.04) | 66 (10.59) | |||
| Bad | 3 (0.43) | 1 (0.16) | |||
| Very bad | 0 (0.00) | 1 (0.16) | |||
| Conjugal relation | Harmonious | 594 (85.96) | 550 (79.37) | 1.645 | 0.439 |
| Common | 80 (11.58) | 60 (8.66) | |||
| Other circumstances (such as single parent/separation, etc.) | 17 (2.46) | 13 (1.88) | |||
| Children's personality characteristics | Extroverted | 228 (33.00) | 258 (37.23) | 11.366 | 0.003 |
| Middle | 387 (56.03) | 316 (45.60) | |||
| Introverted | 76 (11.00) | 49 (7.07) | |||
| Child rearing practices | Absolute authority type | 621 (89.87) | 558 (89.57) | 12.386 | 0.006 |
| Spoiling type | 36 (5.20) | 15 (2.40) | |||
| Neglect indifference type | 31 (4.49) | 48 (7.70) | |||
| Absolute authority type | 3 (0.43) | 2 (0.32) | |||
| Coping styles of children's negative emotions | Encourage expression | 655 (94.79) | 597 (86.15) | 1.042 | 0.594 |
| Neglect | 19 (2.75) | 12 (1.73) | |||
| Punish | 17 (2.46) | 14 (2.02) | |||
| Questionnaire filled by | Father | 138 (19.97) | 134 (19.34) | 0.472 | 0.492 |
| Mother | 553 (80.03) | 489 (70.56) | |||
| SDQ score (mean ± SD, score) | 44.44 ± 4.52 | 44.63 ± 4.34 | 0.775 | 0.438 | |
| PSI-SF score (mean ± SD, score) | |||||
| PD total score | 28.51 ± 10.78 | 28.14 ± 11.19 | 0.610 | 0.542 | |
| P-CDI total | 19.41 ± 7.88 | 18.73 ± 7.11 | 1.636 | 0.102 | |
| DC total | 22.80 ± 9.80 | 22.14 ± 8.48 | 1.299 | 0.194 | |
| Aggregate score | 70.72 ± 24.18 | 69.00 ± 22.53 | 1.330 | 0.184 | |
In total, 550 pairs were successfully matched. There was no significant difference in the occupation of the mother and the character of the child between the two groups after matching (P > 0.05). However, differences remained in child-rearing practices. M, significant differences existed in the sex of the children between the two groups and in parental rearing attitudes toward children. Additionally, the SDQ scores of children and the PSI-SF scores of parents in the only-child group were significantly lower than those in the non-only-child group (both P < 0.05; Table 2).
| General information | Only child group (n = 550) | Non-only child group (n = 550) | χ2/t | P value | |
| Age (mean ± SD, years) | 4.28 ± 1.11 | 4.23 ± 1.11 | 0.747 | 0.455 | |
| Child gender | Man | 169 (30.73) | 158 (28.73) | 27.487 | 0.000 |
| Woman | 381 (69.27) | 392 (71.27) | |||
| Type number | 1 time | 224 (40.73) | 207 (37.64) | 1.652 | 0.438 |
| 2 times | 312 (56.73) | 332 (60.36) | |||
| 3 times and above | 14 (2.55) | 11 (2.00) | |||
| Mother's age (mean ± SD, years) | 36.87 ± 5.09 | 37.08 ± 5.03 | 0.688 | 0.492 | |
| Father's age (mean ± SD, years) | 35.82 ± 4.68 | 36.26 ± 4.50 | 1.481 | 0.139 | |
| Mother's occupation | Civil servants, teachers | 98 (17.82) | 98 (17.82) | 6.753 | 0.240 |
| Science and technology, finance, finance workers | 86 (15.64) | 72 (13.09) | |||
| Freelance, self-employed | 78 (14.18) | 96 (17.45) | |||
| Workers, industrial and commercial enterprise employees | 87 (15.82) | 100 (18.18) | |||
| Unemployed | 20 (3.64) | 27 (4.91) | |||
| Other | 181 (32.91) | 157 (28.55) | |||
| Father's occupation | Civil servants, teachers | 118 (21.45) | 116 (21.09) | 4.838 | 0.436 |
| Science and technology, finance, finance workers | 72 (13.09) | 57 (10.36) | |||
| Freelance, self-employed | 114 (20.73) | 124 (22.55) | |||
| Workers, industrial and commercial enterprise employees | 98 (17.82) | 101 (18.36) | |||
| Unemployed | 6 (1.09) | 13 (2.36) | |||
| Other | 142 (25.82) | 139 (25.27) | |||
| Mother's education | Junior secondary and below | 15 (2.73) | 18 (3.27) | 8.346 | 0.080 |
| High school or technical secondary school | 46 (8.36) | 62 (11.27) | |||
| Universities and colleges | 177 (32.18) | 143 (26.00) | |||
| Undergraduate course | 252 (45.82) | 277 (50.36) | |||
| Master degree or above | 60 (10.91) | 50 (9.09) | |||
| Father's education | Junior secondary and below | 16 (2.91) | 14 (2.55) | 4.850 | 0.303 |
| High school or technical secondary school | 53 (9.64) | 75 (13.64) | |||
| Universities and colleges | 176 (32.00) | 175 (31.82) | |||
| Undergraduate course | 264 (48.00) | 252 (45.82) | |||
| Master degree or above | 41 (7.45) | 34 (3.18) | |||
| Family type | Nuclear family (parents and children) | 314 (57.09) | 297 (54.00) | 2.113 | 0.549 |
| Single parent | 5 (0.91) | 8 (1.45) | |||
| Of three generations under one roof | 222 (40.36) | 232 (42.18) | |||
| Other | 9 (1.64) | 13 (2.36) | |||
| Primary caregiver | Mother | 389 (70.73) | 416 (75.64) | 4.796 | 1.187 |
| Dad | 38 (6.91) | 31 (5.64) | |||
| Grandparents | 122 (22.18) | 100 (18.18) | |||
| Housemaid | 1 (0.18) | 3 (0.55) | |||
| Parental control over children | Highly consistent | 161 (29.27) | 126 (22.31) | 8.979 | 0.011 |
| Basically the same | 383 (69.64) | 409 (74.36) | |||
| Basically different | 6 (1.09) | 15 (2.73) | |||
| Parenting attitudes among seniors and parents | Highly consistent | 7 (1.27) | 17 (3.09) | 3.066 | 0.216 |
| Basically the same | 202 (36.73) | 256 (46.55) | |||
| Basically different | 241 (43.82) | 277 (50.36) | |||
| Proportion of children's expenses | One fifth or less | 131 (23.09) | 126 (22.91) | 1.986 | 0.575 |
| One quarter | 190 (34.55) | 186 (33.82) | |||
| One third | 160 (29.09) | 179 (32.55) | |||
| A half | 69 (12.55) | 59 (10.73) | |||
| Family atmosphere | Very harmonious | 268 (48.73) | 250 (45.45) | 2.921 | 0.571 |
| Good | 229 (41.64) | 234 (42.55) | |||
| Common | 52 (9.45) | 64 (11.64) | |||
| Bad | 1 (0.18) | 1 (0.18) | |||
| Very bad | 0 (0.00) | 1 (0.18) | |||
| Relationship | Harmonious | 496 (90.18) | 483 (87.82) | 1.846 | 0.397 |
| Common | 44 (8.00) | 57 (10.36) | |||
| Other circumstances (e.g. single parent/separation etc.) | 10 (1.82) | 10 (1.82) | |||
| Children's personality characteristics | Extroverted | 191 (34.73) | 221 (40.18) | 3.629 | 0.163 |
| Middle | 303 (55.09) | 281 (51.09) | |||
| Introverted | 56 (10.18) | 48 (8.73) | |||
| Child rearing practices | Democratic authority type | 512 (93.09) | 489 (88.91) | 15.479 | 0.001 |
| Absolute authority type | 21 (3.82) | 15 (2.73) | |||
| Spoiling type | 17 (3.09) | 44 (8.00) | |||
| Neglect indifference type | 0 (0.00) | 2 (0.36) | |||
| Coping styles of children's negative emotions | Encourage expression | 527 (98.82) | 525 (95.45) | 0.158 | 0.954 |
| Neglect | 11 (2.00) | 11 (2.00) | |||
| Punish | 12 (2.18) | 14 (2.55) | |||
| Scale filled by | Father | 103 (18.73) | 122 (22.18) | 2.017 | 0.156 |
| Mother | 447 (81.27) | 428 (77.82) | |||
| SDQ score (mean ± SD, score) | 44.09 ± 3.94 | 44.78 ± 4.38 | 2.747 | 0.006 | |
| PSI-SF score (mean ± SD, score) | |||||
| PD total score | 25.19 ± 8.69 | 30.05 ± 10.49 | 0.131 | 0.896 | |
| P-CDI total | 16.49 ± 4.18 | 19.49 ± 7.23 | 8.043 | 0.000 | |
| DC total | 19.63 ± 6.43 | 23.28 ± 8.37 | 8.110 | 0.000 | |
| Aggregate score | 61.31 ± 14.96 | 72.82 ± 21.21 | 10.400 | 0.000 | |
Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that before matching, there was no significant correlation among the mother's occupation, child's character, and child's rearing style (both P > 0.05), as shown in Table 3. After matching, a positive correlation was found between the child's rearing style and parents' attitude toward child discipline (r = 0.096, P < 0.01). Moreover, the PSI-SF score showed a significant positive correlation with the child's sex, parents' attitude toward child discipline, and SDQ score (r = 0.077, 0.193, 0.172, 0.222, P < 0.05), as shown in Table 4. A correlation analysis between the children’s SDQ scores and the parents’ PSI-SF scores is shown in Figure 1.
| Index | Mother's occupation | Children's character traits | ||
| Correlation | P value | Correlation | P value | |
| Mother's occupation | - | - | - | - |
| Children's character traits | -0.010 | 0.713 | - | - |
| Child rearing pattern | 0.016 | 0.562 | 0.040 | 0.146 |
In contemporary society, changes in the family structure and the concept of reproduction have attracted attention to the conditions and behaviors of only and non-only children. In China, the long-term implementation of the one-child policy has had a profound impact on family structure and fertility. One-child families occupy an important position in Chinese society, typically enjoying more resources and attention, but may also face the pressure of a lack of siblings’ company and competition. In contrast, families of non-only children include siblings, and the interaction and competition among them may have different effects on emotional behavior[11,12]. Therefore, studying the emotional behavior of only and non-only-child preschoolers helps understanding the influence of family structure on children’s psychological development. Parental pressure is also an issue of concern. With social and economic development and the accelerated pace of life, an increasing number of parents are facing the difficulties of balancing work and family[13]. Therefore, a comparative study was conducted of parental pressure among parents of only- and non-only-child preschoolers to understand the psychological state and quality of life of parents in different family structures.
This study explored the internal relationship between children's emotional behavior and parental pressure in one-child and multi-child families. Due to the many factors that affect children's emotional behavior and parental pressure, a propensity scoring method was used to balance and avoid the interference of potential confounding factors in the two groups for a more accurate assessment. The results showed that before matching there were no significant differences between the two groups for other indicators, besides those observed for the mother's occupation, child's character, and child's rearing style. The study found that children's age and education level affected their emotional behavior and parents' parental pressure to a certain extent[14]. Therefore, this study balanced these traditional influencing factors.
Using disposition scoring, 550 family pairs were successfully matched. Afterward, there were still differences in the children's rearing styles, and the SDQ scores and parents’ PSI-SF scores for children in the only-child group were significantly lower than those of children in the non-only-child group. This indicates that the number of children in families can affect children's emotional behaviors and parents' parental pressure to some extent. This conclusion is consistent with that of a previous study by Gómez-Ortiz et al[15]. This is primarily because in a one-child family parents place more expectations and focus more attention on that child such that these children bear considerable family expectations and pressure[16]. Moreover, the lack of sibling interaction negatively impacts the social skills of only children, making them feel lonely and insecure, thus affecting their emotional state[17]. For non-only-child families, in the case of limited family resources, parents must allocate resources equitably to multiple children, which also increases the care burden and pressure on parents[18]. Additionally, in non-only-child families, there is competition and comparison among the children in many aspects, which affects children's emotional state. Moreover, parents must spend more time and energy mediating conflicts among siblings, which further aggravates the pressure on parents. The Pearson correlation analysis showed no significant correlation between the general data of the two groups before matching, while there was a significant positive correlation between parents' PSI-SF scores and children's sex and parents' attitudes toward children's discipline after matching, as well as a significant positive correlation between parents' PSI-SF scores and children's SDQ scores. These findings indicate that children's emotional behavior has a significant impact on parents' job stress. This is because when parents are under pressure, the negative emotions they exhibit, such as anxiety and depression, are transmitted to their children, thus affecting the children’s emotional state and behavioral performance[19]. When parental pressure is greater, the emotional management and upbringing performance changes, and this change directly affects the child, and subsequently their emotional behavior[20]. In contrast, when children are in a negative emotional state, they also make parents worry and experience anxiety, further increasing parental pressure.
In summary, compared with only-child families, the emotional behavior of preschool children from non-only-child families is more evident and the parental occupational stress is significantly greater. The parental occupational stress of families with different structures is related to many factors, and the emotional behavior of preschool children is positively correlated with parental occupational stress. However, the children included in this study were very young (3-5 years old), and their understanding of emotions might have been biased. Therefore, the age range of research participants could be increased in a future study to improve the accuracy and reliability of the research results.
We thank all the medical staff, parents, and children who agreed to participate in this study.
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