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IntroductionThis study tested a moderated mediation model of child number (CN) and parenting styles (PS) in the relationships between family socioeconomic status (SES) and young children’s problem behaviors (PB).MethodsA sample of 1,101 children (Mage = 4.90 years, SD = 1.07) and their parents participated in this study. Parents reported on PS, SES, and children’s PB.Results and DiscussionThe results show SES was positively related to authoritative parenting and negatively related to authoritarian parenting; problem behaviors were negatively related to authoritative parenting and positively related to authoritarian parenting; authoritative parenting and authoritarian parenting mediated the relationship between SES and PB; and singleton moderated the relationship between SES and PB. The combination of only children and low levels of SES could lead to high PB levels, while the combination of non-only children and high levels of SES could lead to high PB levels. At the same SES, only children had higher PB levels than non-only children.

Longitudinal research suggests that optimal long-term outcomes are achieved when early childhood education and care (ECEC) balance free with guided play. A prerequisite for this achievement is that ECEC teachers value both equally. This study examines preschool teachers’ play beliefs profile and explores its association with teachers’ backgrounds (e.g., teaching experience, education level) in a sample of 674 Chinese teachers in Fujian, China. Participants completed an adapted form of the Parent Play Belief Scale, the Chinese Teacher Play Beliefs Scale (CTPBS), to report their beliefs regarding young children’s play and early academics. Latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed 91% of teachers exhibited high Academics over Guided Play (AGP) and low Free Play and Socio-Emotional Skills Support (FPSSS), whereas only 9% were high in both factors. Teachers with a decade or more teaching experience were more likely to belong to the high AGP and low FPSES profile. The findings indicate that the majority of Chinese ECEC teachers value guiding play to academic skills more than they do facilitating free play for socio-emotional skills. Professional development focused on balancing guided with free play may be necessary for the majority of Chinese ECEC teachers to catch up with the zeitgeist of contemporary international research and policy on intentional teaching in play.

This study examined the serial mediating effects of negative parenting and children's mastery motivation on the relationship between family socioeconomic status (SES) and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in Chinese preschoolers. A sample of 669 Chinese children between 3 and 6 years (M[subscript age] = 4.83, SD[subscript age] = 0.87, 50.4% girls) was recruited from 12 public kindergartens in a coastal city in southeastern China based on a stratified random sampling procedure. Their parents completed the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS), Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire for Preschool Children (DMQ 18), and Children's Problem Behaviors Scale (CPBS). Research Findings: (1) family SES was significantly related to reduced negative parenting and children's problem behaviors as well as increased children's mastery motivation; (2) family SES affected children's problem behaviors indirectly through the single mediating path of negative parenting and the single mediating path of children's mastery motivation; and (3) negative parenting and children's mastery motivation were identified the serial mediators between family SES and children's problem behaviors. Practice or Policy: This study has demonstrated how family SES would interact with negative parenting practices concerning early childhood development. The findings also indicated that strategies that assist parents in adopting positive parenting practices or facilitate the development of mastery motivation in children might reduce the occurrence of children's problem behaviors.