The Sequential Mediating Effects of Parental Burnout and Rejective Parenting Attitudes on the Relationship between Maternal Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Early Childhood Problem Behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the sequential mediating effects of parental burnout and rejective parenting attitudes on the relationship between mothers’ socially prescribed perfectionism and problem behaviors in young children. Participants were 400 mothers of children aged 3-5 years (214 boys and 186 girls), who completed an online survey assessing multidimensional perfectionism, parental burnout, parental acceptance- rejection/control, and child behavior. Data were analyzed using PROCESS macro Model 6. The results showed a significant sequential mediating effect of parental burnout and rejective parenting attitudes on the relationship between mothers’ socially prescribed perfectionism and children’s internalizing problems, whereas the direct effect was not significant. In contrast, for externalizing problems, both the sequential mediating effect and the direct effect of mothers’ socially prescribed perfectionism were significant. This study contributes to the literature by identifying distinct pathways through which mothers’ socially prescribed perfectionism is associated with young children’s problem behaviors according to problem type. The findings suggest that interventions for internalizing problems may benefit from reducing rejective parenting attitudes, whereas interventions for externalizing problems may need to address mothers’ socially prescribed perfectionism itself.