Maternal educational anxiety and mother–child closeness in China: Mediating roles of gatekeeping and father involvement

Abstract Objective This study aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal educational anxiety and mother–child closeness in China. Background Grounded in family systems theory, we examined the serial mediating roles of maternal gatekeeping behaviors (both gate opening and gate closing) and father involvement in this association. Method A cross‐sectional survey was conducted with 555 mother–child dyads from Wenzhou, China. Mothers reported on their educational anxiety and gatekeeping behaviors, and children (mean age = 12.50 years) reported on perceived father involvement and their closeness with their mother. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with a bootstrapping procedure was used to test the hypothesized serial mediation models. Results The findings indicated a significant negative correlation between maternal anxiety over the child's education and mother–child closeness. The SEM analysis revealed significant indirect effects. Specifically, maternal educational anxiety was linked to reduced mother–child closeness through two serial mediation pathways: (a) via decreased maternal gate‐opening behaviors, which in turn led to lower father involvement; and (b) via increased maternal gate‐closing behaviors, which also resulted in lower father involvement. The direct mediating roles of gate‐opening and gate‐closing behaviors were not statistically significant, though the mediating role of father involvement was significant. Conclusion Maternal educational anxiety is negatively associated with mother–child closeness by relating to coparenting dynamics. Specifically, maternal gatekeeping behaviors mediate this relationship by altering father involvement. Implications These findings suggest that interventions should adopt a family systems approach, targeting the coparenting relationship to mitigate maternal anxiety and improve family relationships.