The Relationship Between Externalizing Problem Behaviors and Academic Skills in Preschool Children with Allergic Diseases: The Mediating Effect of Maternal Positive Parenting Behaviors

This study examines the relationship between externalizing problem behaviors and academic skills in preschool children with allergic diseases, as well as the mediating effect of mothers' positive parenting behaviors on this relationship. The study utilized data from 762 five-year-old children who had experienced symptoms of one or more allergic diseases within the past 12 months and their mothers (Korean Child Panel Study, 7th year). Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the relationships among externalizing problem behaviors, maternal positive parenting, and academic skills in children with allergic diseases. The significance of the mediating effect of the parenting behaviors was tested using bootstrapping. The results are as follows. First, there was a significant correlation among externalizing problem behaviors in children with allergic diseases, mothers' positive parenting behaviors, and academic skills of those children. Second, among children with allergic diseases, externalizing problem behaviors were associated with changes in maternal positive parenting behaviors and children’s academic skills. The positive parenting behaviors partially mediated the relationship between externalizing problem behaviors and academic skills of children with allergic diseases. Based on these results, interventions targeting externalizing problem behaviors in children with allergic diseases and the parenting support programs for parents are necessary to aid in the cognitive development of children with allergic diseases.