Profiles of Parental Home-Based Involvement: Associations with Preschool Children’s Positive Psychological Traits and Social Adaptation

Keman Yuan, Weiqi Liang, Jiaxin Sun, Jingyao Wang, Yan LiShanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yan Li, Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Although prior studies have examined the association between parental involvement and children’s social development, less attention has been paid to the division of parental roles and the heterogeneity of parental involvement patterns. Adopting a person-centered approach, this study identified the latent profiles of fathers’ and mothers’ home-based involvement and further examined how these profiles were associated with preschool children’s positive psychological traits and social adaptation.Participants and Methods: The sample consisted of 672 intact Chinese families with preschool children (Mage = 5.05 years, SD = 0.92; 52.5% boys) enrolled in nine kindergartens in Shanghai. Data were collected using questionnaires assessing parental home-based involvement reported by both parents, as well as positive psychological traits and social adaptation reported primarily by mothers. Latent profile analysis was conducted.Results: After controlling for child gender, age, and only-child status, our findings revealed four parental home-based profiles (ie, low-level parental involvement, high father-low mother involvement, low father-high mother involvement, and high-level parental involvement). Children in the high-level parental involvement and low father-high mother involvement profiles showed the best positive psychological traits and social adaptation, whereas those in the llow-level parental involvement profile showed the least favorable outcomes.Conclusion: This study identified typical profiles of parental home-based involvement among families of preschool children in China. The findings indicate differences in fathers’ and mothers’ involvement patterns, with high-level parental involvement and mother-centered involvement associated with more favorable positive psychological traits and social adaptation in preschool children.Keywords: parental involvement, positive psychological traits, social adaptation, latent profile analysis, preschool children