Parental Social Support and Preschoolers' Oral Health Behaviours: The Mediating Role of Parental Stress and Self-Efficacy.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction and aims

Oral health behaviours (OHBs) of preschoolers are crucial for preventing early childhood caries (ECC); however, the relationship between parental/caregivers' factors and the OHBs of Chinese preschoolers has not been clearly defined. This study aimed to explore the relationship between parental/caregivers' social support and the OHBs of Chinese preschoolers, and whether parental stress and self-efficacy mediate this relationship serially.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Minhang District, Shanghai, from December 2023 to March 2024, among 2393 participants recruited from parents or caregivers of preschoolers from 46 kindergartens. All data were collected using a self-reported structured questionnaire, including questions about sociodemographic characteristics, children's OHBs, self-efficacy, perceived social support (MSPSS), and parental stress (PSS-18). Ordinary least-squares regression and the bootstrap method were used to test the significance of the serial multiple mediation model.

Results

The multiple mediations of parental stress and self-efficacy were found significant in the relationship of children's OHBs with all three dimensions of parental/caregivers' social support. When considered as individual mediators, only self-efficacy showed significant mediations across all three dimensions, while the mediation of parental stress alone was not significant.

Conclusion

This study revealed a pathway of association between parental/caregivers' social support and their children's OHBs, in which parental stress and self-efficacy had indirect effects. These insights provide a theoretical basis for understanding the mechanism of oral health promotion interventions to improve children's OHBs and help develop effective early childhood caries (ECC) prevention strategies and interventions at family and community levels.

Clinical relevance

Enhancing parental social support and self-efficacy while reducing stress may improve preschoolers' oral health behaviours, offering a targeted family-cantered strategy for early childhood caries prevention in clinical and community settings.

SUBMITTER: Shi X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12374432 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature