The Mediating Effect Of Cortisol Levels Of Preschool Children In A City Between Parental Parenting Styles And Child Problem Behaviors

ObjectiveBy investigating parental parenting styles and children’s problem behaviors,and collecting children’s saliva cortisol.Analyze the relationship between parental parenting styles,toddler’s cortisol levels and toddler’s problem behaviors,and explore whether there is a mediating effect between toddler’s cortisol levels and parental parenting styles and toddler’s problem behaviors.It can provide a reference basis for intervening parental parenting methods to promote the health of children’s neuroendocrine system and reduce children’s preschool and future problem behaviors.MethodA stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 2 kindergartens in a certain city.548 children(311 boys,237 girls)and their parents were selected as the research objects.The average age of the children was 4.41 years(SD=0.90,range: 3-6 years old).The contents of the questionnaire survey include: basic information about children and their parents,parenting style questionnaire(family parenting style questionnaire,Taiwan Chen Fumei)and children’s problem behaviors questionnaire(the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist’s internalization and externalization problem behavior scale).Method of collecting and measuring saliva cortisol: using salivette saliva collector to collect saliva samples from infants at nine to ten in the morning and three to four in the afternoon,using an enzyme-linked immunoassay(ELISA Kit)to measure the level of cortisol in saliva.Statistical analysis methods: use t test,analysis of variance,rank sum test,Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis and AMOS structural equation.Results1.Girls’ score of social,attention,disciplinary and aggressive behaviors were lower than boys’ scores(P<0.01).The scores of easy-going parenting behavior and authoritative parenting style of girl mothers were higher than those of boy mothers(P<0.01～0.05),and their scores of command,corporal punishment,verbal aggression parenting behavior and authoritarian parenting style were lower than those of boy mothers(P<0.05).Girl fathers scored lower in corporal punishment,unreasonable,verbal aggression parenting behaviors and authoritarian parenting styles than boys fathers(P<0.01).2.The scores of the boy’s mother’s command and verbal aggression parenting behavior were negatively correlated with the boy’s cortisol concentration in the afternoon(P<0.05).The girl’s mother’s easy-going parenting behavior score was positively correlated with the girl’s morning cortisol concentration(P<0.05).3.The boy’s afternoon cortisol concentration was negatively correlated with the boy’s scores of withdrawal,social problems,attention problems,disciplinary problems and aggression problems(P<0.01～0.05).The girl’s morning cortisol concentration was negatively correlated with the girl’s attention problems score(P<0.05).4.The mediating effect of boys’ afternoon cortisol between mother’s ordering and parenting behaviors and boys’ disciplinary problem behaviors was statistically significant,and the mediating effect accounted for 9.77% of the total effects.The mediating effect of girl’s morning cortisol concentration between mother’s easy-going parenting behavior and girl’s attention problem was not statistically significant.Conclusion1.For boys,the mother’s command and verbal aggression’s parenting behavior were negatively correlated with their afternoon cortisol concentration,and their afternoon cortisol concentration was negatively correlated with withdrawal,social interaction,attention,discipline violation and aggressive behavior;for girls,the mother’s easygoing behavior His parenting behavior was positively correlated with his cortisol concentration in the morning,and his cortisol concentration in the morning was negatively correlated with his problem attention behavior.2.Cortisol in the afternoon of boys has part mediating effect between the mother’s ordering behavior and the boy’s disciplinary behavior.The morning cortisol concentration of girls does not have a mediating effect in the influence of mother’s easy-going parenting behavior on girls’ attention problems.