Parental sports support and emotional-behavioral problems in preschoolers: the chain mediating roles of exercise habits and parent–child relationships

Abstract

Background – Experiencing emotional-behavioral problems during the preschool years can significantly hinder children's development and learning. While physical activity (PA) is recognized as beneficial for mitigating emotional-behavioral problems, the specific role of parental sports support and its underlying mechanisms remains underexplored. This study examined the relationship between parental sports support and emotional-behavioral problems in preschool children, investigating the individual and chain mediating roles of children's exercise habits and the parent–child relationship. Methods – A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 4, 358 parents of children aged 3–6 years in Hunan Province, China, using convenience sampling (2, 252 boys, 2, 106 girls; mean age 4.4 years). Variables were measured using the Parental Sports Support Scale, the Preschoolers' Exercise Habits Scale, the Parent–Child Relationship Scale, and the Emotional-Behavioral Problems Scale. A chain mediation model was tested using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Results – Parental sports support was significantly and negatively associated with preschoolers' emotional-behavioral problems (β = −0.085, p < 0.001). Both children's exercise habits and the parent–child relationship served as partial mediators in this association, with the mediating effect of the parent–child relationship (effect = −0.032, 95% CI: [−0.042, −0.021]) being stronger than that of exercise habits (effect = −0.010, 95% CI: [−0.013, −0.007]). Furthermore, a significant chain mediation was identified: parental sports support was linked to fewer emotional-behavioral problems through a sequential pathway involving increased exercise habits, which in turn fostered a more positive parent–child relationship (effect = −0.014, 95% CI: [−0.017, −0.011]). The total indirect effect accounted for 65.12% of the total effect. Conclusions – The findings indicate that parental sports support is associated with lower levels of emotional-behavioral problems both directly and indirectly through its relationship with healthier exercise habits and improved parent–child relationships. These results identify pathways through which parental sports involvement is associated with child mental health and suggest that family-centered physical activity interventions may be a valuable approach for addressing emotional-behavioral problems in early childhood. However, due to the cross-sectional design, this study can identify associations but not causal relationships.