Effects of Household Chaos and Interparental Conflict on Executive Function in Early School-Aged Children: The Mediating Role of Anxiety

Objective: This study examined the direct effects of household chaos and interparental conflict on executive function in early school-aged children, as well as the indirect effects mediated by children’s anxiety. Methods: Participants were 269 mothers of children in the first to third grades of elementary school, who completed questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the pathways among the variables, and the significance of indirect effects was tested using the bootstrapping method. Results: First, household chaos and interparental conflict had direct effects on children’s execution function, such that higher levels of household chaos and interparental conflict were associated with lower levels of executive function. Second, household chaos and interparental conflict indirectly affected executive function through children’s anxiety. Specifically, higher levels of household chaos and interparental conflict were associated with higher levels of children’s anxiety, which in turn led to lower execution function. The indirect effects were statistically significant. Conclusion: By examining both direct and anxiety-mediated pathways linking household chaos and interparental conflict to children’s executive function, this study revealed the multidimensional influence of home environment on child development. The findings suggest that, in addition to physical stability, the emotional climate of the family constitutes an important foundation for children’s emotional and cognitive development.