Family Economic Distress, Paternal Depression, Marital Relationship, Controlling Parenting Style, and Behavioral Problems in Young Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of family economic distress, paternal depression, marital relationship, and controlling parenting style on behavioral problems in young children and to present a program for their reduction. The participants of this study were 344 fathers, whose young children were attending kindergartens located in Cheongju city. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and Pearson`s productive correlation, t and F-tests via the SPSS 12.0 program, with the path model analyzed using the AMOS 7.0 program. There were six paths where family economic distress, mediated by paternal depression, marital relationship, controlling parenting style, had effects on the behavioral problems in young children. However, the path where family economic distress had an indirect effect on the behavioral problems in young children via paternal depression and marital relationship appeared to be the most influential. Also, paternal depression appeared to have the most impact on young children`s behavioral problems.