In China, parent–grandparent co-parenting plays a key role in family dynamics. This study examined whether the parent–grandparent co-parenting relationship moderates associations between parental stress (parenting expectations stress and work-related stress) and mental health outcomes (well-being, anxiety, and depression). Data were collected from 306 Chinese parents (Mage = 34.90 years, SD = 5.91). Path analysis revealed that co-parenting relationship moderated these effects, including reducing the negative impacts of work-related stress on anxiety and parenting expectations stress on well-being. Multi-group analyses showed differences by only-child status. Among non-only-child parents, the interaction between parenting expectations stress and co-parenting relationship in predicting depression was significant. For both only-child parents and one-sided only-child parents, the moderating effect of co-parenting relationship on the link between work-related stress and well-being was pronounced. These findings highlight the dual stress of parenting expectations and work-related, and the protective role of grandparents’ co-parenting, especially in families lacking sibling-based caregiving networks.
ChoiE.ChoiK. W.JeongH. G.LeeM.-S.KoY.-H.HanC.HamB. J.ChangJ.HanK.-M. (2021). Long working hours and depressive symptoms: Moderation by gender, income, and job status. Journal of Affective Disorders, 286(9), 99–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.001
CovingtonM. V. (1984). The self-worth theory of achievement motivation: Findings and implications. The Elementary School Journal, 85(1), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1086/461388
4.
DingT.WuK.LiY. (2023). Validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Positive Mental Health Scale among urban adults. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 37(6), 532–537. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-6729.2023.06.014
5.
FangY.BoelensM.WindhorstD. A.RaatH.van GriekenA. (2021). Factors associated with parenting self‐efficacy: A systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 77(6), 2641–2661. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14767
6.
FengQ. (2023). Research on the influence of intergenerational care on children's self-discipline [Master's thesis]. Chongqing Technology and Business University, CNKI.
7.
FrazierP. A.TixA. P.BarronK. E. (2004). Testing moderator and mediator effects in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51(1), 115–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.51.1.115
8.
GiannottiM.MazzoniN.BentenutoA.VenutiP.de FalcoS. (2022). Family adjustment to COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy: Parental stress, coparenting, and child externalizing behavior. Family Process, 61(2), 745–763. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12686
9.
HeT.WuD.JiangY.TangY.ZhouQ.WuQ.LinX. (2024). Coparenting relationship, parenting self‐efficacy, and child adjustment in Chinese mother–grandmother coparenting families: Grandmother role difference. Family Relations, 73(2), 1086–1106. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12928
10.
HoangN. P. T.HaslamD.SandersM. (2020). Coparenting conflict and cooperation between parents and grandparents in Vietnamese families: The role of grandparent psychological control and parent–grandparent communication. Family Process, 59(3), 1161–1174. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12496
11.
HoangN. P. T.KirbyJ. N. (2020). A meta-ethnography synthesis of joint care practices between parents and grandparents from Asian cultural backgrounds: Benefits and challenges. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(3), 605–619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01553-y
12.
HoangN. P. T.KirbyJ. N.HaslamD. M.SandersM. R. (2022). Promoting positive relationship between parents and grandparents: A randomized controlled trial of Group Triple P plus Compassion in Vietnam. Behavior Therapy, 53(6), 1175–1190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2022.06.002
13.
HuL. T.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
14.
KellyE. L.MoenP.OakesJ. M.FanW.OkechukwuC.DavisK. D.CasperL. M.KossekE.KingR. B.HansonG.MierzwaF. (2014). Changing work and work-family conflict: Evidence from the work, family, and health network. American Sociological Review, 79(3), 485–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414531435
15.
KimJ. S.BangH. (2017). Education fever: Korean parents’ aspirations for their children’s schooling and future career. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 25(2), 207–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2016.1252419
16.
KroenkeK.SpitzerR. L.WilliamsJ. B. (2001). The PHQ‐9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606–613. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x
17.
LiX.LiuY. (2019). Parent-grandparent coparenting relationship, maternal parenting self-efficacy, and young children’s social competence in Chinese urban families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(4), 1145–1153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01346-3
LiuP.QiuS.LoH. H. M.SongX.QianQ. (2021). Applying the mindful parenting program among Chinese parents of children with ADHD: A randomized control trial. Mindfulness, 12(6), 1473–1489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01616-6
20.
LiuY.YangY. (2022). New “useless education theory”: Highly educated parents' expectations for their children's education—Evidence from the one-child policy. China Economic Review, 72(2), Article 101764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2022.101764
21.
LuoY.QiM.HuntsingerC. S.ZhangQ.XuanX.WangY. (2020). Grandparent involvement and preschoolers’ social adjustment in Chinese three-generation families: Examining moderating and mediating effects. Children and Youth Services Review, 114(7), Article 105057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105057
22.
MotowidloS. J.PackardJ. S.ManningM. R. (1986). Occupational stress: Its causes and consequences for job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(4), 618–629. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.4.618
23.
NoriegaC.VelascoC.Pérez-RojoG.LópezJ. (2022). Character strengths and social support as protective factors between grandparents’ caregiving and health-related quality of life. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 31(9), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02187-9
24.
PrimeH.WadeM.BrowneD. T. (2020). Risk and resilience in family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Psychologist, 75(5), 631–643. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000660
25.
RusuP. P.CandelO. S.BogdanI.IlciucC.UrsuA.PodinaI. R. (2025). Parental stress and well-being: A meta-analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 28(2), 255–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-025-00515-9
26.
SpitzerR. L.KroenkeK.WilliamsJ. B.LöweB. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092–1097. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092
27.
WangF.YangH.LiF.ZhengY.XuH.WangR.CuiY. (2024). Prevalence and comorbidity of anxiety disorder in school-attending children and adolescents aged 6–16 years in China. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 8(1), Article e001967. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2023-001967
28.
WangH.HuangJ. (2023). Impacts of grandparenting on older Chinese adults’ mental health: A cross-sectional study. BMC Geriatrics, 23(1), 660. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04396-x
29.
WangT.ChengH. (2025). Parenting stress and its influencing factors among Chinese parents in parent–grandparent co-parenting families: A latent profile analysis. Behavioral Sciences, 15(4), 533. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15040533
30.
World Health Organization. (2022). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice: Summary report. World Health Organization.
31.
WuD.JiangY.ZhengL.RenW.LinX. (2024). The power of routines: Impact of parent-grandparent coparenting relationship quality on post-lockdown child adjustment over the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Children and Youth Services Review, 164(9), Article 107869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107869
32.
XuW.ParraG. R.CarterM. K. (2024). Intergenerational coparenting and child development outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 16(4), 834–856. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12594
33.
XuX.XiaoB.ZhuL.LiY. (2023). The influence of parent-grandparent co-parenting on children’s problem behaviors and its potential mechanisms. Early Education and Development, 34(4), 791–805. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2022.2073746
34.
YangP.LiX.LiX.LiD.XuX.ZhaoC. (2024). Parent-grandparent co-parenting and preschoolers’ self-control in China: The roles of maternal and grandparental parenting styles. Early Education and Development, 35(3), 572–587. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2023.2186087
35.
ZengS.LiF.DingP. (2020). Is being an only child harmful to psychological health?: Evidence from an instrumental variable analysis of China's one-child policy. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A: Statistics in Society, 183(4), 1615–1635. https://doi.org/10.1111/rssa.12595
36.
ZhangY. (2022). Development and validation of the parenting stress questionnaire for children [Master's thesis]. Guangzhou University, CNKI.
37.
ZhouH.LiQ.LiuZ.LiK.GengX.FangX. (2024). Family emotional expressiveness and adolescents’ cyberbullying bystanders: The mediating role of empathy. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 17(1), 2099–2110. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S447605
38.
ZhouM.ZhangJ.LiF.ChenC. (2020). Work-family conflict and depressive symptoms among Chinese employees: Cross-level interaction of organizational justice climate and family flexibility. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 6954. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196954
