Relationship between Perfectionism and Parenting Behavior of Working Mothers: Double Mediating Effects of Work-family Conflict and Parenting Guilt

Abstract

This study examined the double mediating effects of work-family conflict and parenting guilt on the relationship between perfectionism and parenting behavior for working mothers. The survey was conducted on 340 working mothers with 3 to 5 year-old children, who lived in Daegu and Kyungpook Province, Korea. Data were collected through questionnaires on perfectionism, work-family conflict, parenting guilt, and parenting behavior. To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and analysis of variance were conducted by using SPSS 22.0 and Model 6 in PROCESS macro, with bootstrapping method. Work-family conflict and parenting guilt were used as mediators. Children’s birth order and household income were controlled throughout the analysis. The major findings of this study were as follows. First, work-family conflict and parenting guilt had inconsistent double mediating effects on the relationship between adaptive perfectionism and positive parenting behavior. Second, work-family conflict and parenting guilt had complete double mediating effects on the relationship between adaptive perfectionism and negative parenting behavior. Third, work-family conflict and parenting guilt did not have double mediating effects on the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and positive parenting behavior. Finally, work-family conflict and parenting guilt had partial double mediating effects on the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and negative parenting behavior. The findings provide a better understanding of the relationship between perfectionism and parenting behavior. The results also have implications for providing education for and counseling working mothers with children.