Abstract
Grounded in the stress-coping model, our study examined family functioning and the classroom environment as protective factors in the relationship between daily stress and behavioral problems in Chinese children. The participants were 1,450 children (51.7% male, Mage = 10.91 years, SD = 0.96) in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at five schools. The children completed the questionnaires measuring daily stress, family functioning, and the classroom environment. Additionally, their parents rated their behavioral problems. The latent moderated structural (LMS) equation approach was used to test moderator effects. After controlling for sex and grade, our results indicate that daily stress positively predicted the children’s behavioral problems. Both family functioning and the classroom environment moderated the relationship between daily stress and behavioral problems. Further assessment of latent interaction effects indicate that buffering effects on behavioral problems were most prominent in conditions involving low stress. In sum, families and schools should not ignore children’s minor stressors, as interventions involving family functioning and favorable classroom environments may help to reduce behavioral problems in children who report low levels of daily stress.
Highlights
Stress—defined as “irritating, frustrating, distressing demands that to some degree characterize everyday transactions with the environment”—is increasingly recognized as an important risk factor for individual growth, with more daily stressors linked to behavioral problems (Schönfeld et al, 2016)
We examined whether family functioning and the classroom environment could function as moderators between daily stress and behavioral problems
The results show that family functioning served as a buffer in the relationship between daily stress and behavioral problems; this provides empirical evidence for the stress-coping model, which states that the ways in which children deal with stress affect mental health (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)
Summary
Stress—defined as “irritating, frustrating, distressing demands that to some degree characterize everyday transactions with the environment”—is increasingly recognized as an important risk factor for individual growth, with more daily stressors linked to behavioral problems (Schönfeld et al, 2016). Multiple facets of stress that may work synergistically are more potent than a single facet (Schneiderman et al, 2005), and children often face multiple, intersecting, cumulative stressors in their daily lives. Social support may serve as a buffer against the impact of daily stress on behavioral problems, existing research on this matter has been conducted predominately in Western countries, Behavioral Problems in Children with few studies carried out in China. It is unclear whether findings from Western nations are generalizable to Chinese individuals, who have different traditions and family structures. To fill this research gap, we aimed to investigate the relationship between overall daily stress and behavioral problems, and to identify contextual factors that may diminish this relationship in Chinese children
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