Grandparent involvement and children’s emotional and behavioral problems: the mediating role of social competence and the moderating role of family functioning

Abstract

This study examined whether social competence accounts for part of the association between grandparent involvement and children’s emotional and behavioral problems, and whether family functioning modifies the strength of the association between grandparent involvement and social adaptability. Data were collected from 729 parents of children aged 3–7 years in China across three time points. Participants completed measures of grandparent involvement, family functioning, social adaptability, and emotional and behavioral problems. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that grandparent involvement was positively associated with children’s emotional and behavioral problems, and social adaptability partially accounted for this association. Moreover, the negative association between grandparent involvement and social adaptability varied by family functioning: the negative association was weaker when family functioning was high and stronger when family functioning was low. These findings suggest that family functioning and children’s social adaptability may serve as promising intervention targets for addressing the negative correlates of grandparent involvement with child development.