Parent-Child Relationships: A Shield Against Maternal Depression in the Midst of Household Chaos

Baocheng Pan,1 Chengli Zhao,1 Yizhao Gong,1 Jiaxuan Miao,1 Bingda Zhang,2 Yan Li1 1Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Zhongqiao Vocational and Technical University, Shanghai, 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 liyan@shnu.edu.cnBackground: Depression, a severe mental disorder, not only jeopardizes the health of mothers but also significantly negative impacts on families and their children. This study investigates the correlation between household chaos and maternal depression.Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional design and used the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Parent-Child Relationship Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory to assess 1947 mothers of children in seven kindergartens in Shanghai, China.Results: The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between household chaos, marital conflict, and maternal depression. Marital conflict also showed a significantly positively correlated with maternal depression. Marital conflict mediates the relationship between household chaos and maternal depression. Parent-child relationships moderated the direct effect of household chaos on maternal depression. When parent-child relationships were low, household chaos had a greater predictive effect on maternal depression. Conversely, when parent-child relationships were high, the predictive effect of household chaos on maternal depression was reduced.Conclusion: This study reveals that parent-child relationships play a protective role in the impact of household chaos on maternal depression. This study significantly contributes to enriching the social support buffering model.Keywords: household chaos, marital conflict, parent-child relationships, maternal depression