The Moderating Role Of Temperament And Cortisol In The Relationship Between Parenting Styles And Problem Behavior In New Preschoolers:the Developmental Adaptation Perspective

The adaptation period for entering kindergarten is a critical point for young children as they transition from family life to society,and it is also a sensitive period for problematic behaviors.Previous research on the relationship between children’s problematic behaviors and parental rearing styles mainly focused on the association between behavior questionnaires.In recent years,with the introduction of questionnaire technology,especially behavioral mediation and moderation statistical techniques,more research has focused on the mediating and moderating roles of external environmental factors and individual traits,such as temperament,gender,and attitude.Existing differential susceptibility models,diathesis-stress models,and psychobiological theories need to be integrated and a new analytical framework established.Therefore,this study examines the enduring impact of parental rearing styles on children’s problematic behaviors one year after entering kindergarten from the perspective of children’s developmental adaptation,as well as the moderating roles of temperament and HPA axis functional activity in the relationship between rearing styles and problematic behaviors,and their interaction patterns.This study uses a whole-unit group longitudinal research design.Since cortisol is a reliable biomarker of HPA axis functional activity,and the novel biomarker salivary cortisol reflects changes in children’s HPA axis at kindergarten,the total secretion of salivary cortisol is used as the baseline functional activity indicator for children’s HPA axis.The study selected 101 newly enrolled children as participants,using Achenbach’s "Child Behavior Checklist" to measure children’s problematic behaviors,Robinson et al.’s "Parenting Style Type and Dimension Questionnaire" to measure children’s parental rearing styles,and Rothbart et al.’s "Child Behavior Questionnaire" to measure children’s temperament.Salivary cortisol total secretion was measured by collecting saliva samples from children over 10 weeks in kindergarten.The study produced the following results:(1)Parental styles significantly predicted children’s problem behaviors one year after entering kindergarten.Specifically,authoritarian and permissive rearing styles had a significant positive prediction for children’s problematic behaviors after one year,while authoritative rearing styles had a significant negative prediction.(2)Children’s temperament played a moderating role in the influence of various rearing styles on problem behaviors.Specifically,temperament(positive emotionality,negative emotionality,and effortful control)played a moderating role in the prediction of children’s externalizing behaviors one year later by parental rearing styles(authoritative,authoritarian,and permissive).Negative emotionality played a moderating role in the prediction of children’s internalizing behaviors one year later by permissive rearing styles,and both conformed to the differential susceptibility model.Effortful control played a moderating role in the relationship between permissive rearing styles and children’s internalizing behaviors one year later,conforming to the diathesis-stress model.(3)Introducing cortisol,the most important indicator of fluid regulation,it was found that total cortisol secretion played a significant moderating role in the relationship between rearing styles(authoritative,authoritarian,and permissive)and children’s internalizing problematic behaviors one year later,validating the rationality of the diathesis-stress model.The present study concludes that parenting styles significantly influence young children’s problem behaviors and represent a key factor in developmental adaptivity.The moderating effects of temperament and cortisol on the relationship between parenting styles and problem behaviors are crucial.Therefore,interventions aimed at improving young children’s problem behaviors should not only include considerations of temperament indicators,but also address neurophysiological indicators in a more targeted and valuable manner.