TYPE Original Research

PUBLISHED 03 May 2024

DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1337531

Impact of “intensive parenting

OPEN ACCESS attitude” on children’s social
competence via maternal
EDITED BY
Nicolette Vanessa Roman,
University of the Western Cape,
South Africa

REVIEWED BY
parenting behavior
Chihiro Hosoda,
Tohoku University, Japan
Luis Felipe Dias Lopes,
Sonoko Egami *†
Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil Department of Developmental and Clinical Psychology, Shiraume Gakuen University, Kodaira, Japan
*CORRESPONDENCE
Sonoko Egami
egami.son.wo@yokohama-cu.ac.jp “Intensive parenting” is a tendency to invest parents’ time, money, and energy
PRESENT ADDRESS
† in their child. This also includes some gender bias concerning a mother being
Sonoko Egami, the best person to primarily raise her children. Some psychology scholars have
School of International Liberal Arts,
pointed out that this attitude causes much stress, anxiety, depression, and a
Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan
sense of guilt among mothers. However, its effects on children have yet to
RECEIVED 13November 2023
ACCEPTED 04 April 2024
be revealed using an extensive survey, and this indicates the need to investigate
PUBLISHED 03 May 2024 any possible impact of an intensive parenting attitude on children. The aim
CITATION
of this study was to elucidate a link between a maternal intensive parenting
Egami S (2024) Impact of “intensive parenting attitude and their children’s social competence through maternal parenting
attitude” on children’s social competence via behavior. This was based on collecting data from 675 Japanese women who
maternal parenting behavior.
Front. Psychol. 15:1337531. were mothers of preschoolers using the Japanese version of the Intensive
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1337531 Parenting Attitude Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Parenting Scale,
COPYRIGHT and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results showed that the
© 2024 Egami. This is an open-access article “Essentialism,” “Fulfillment,” and “Child-centered” components of intensive
distributed under the terms of the Creative
parenting attitude influenced the “involvement and monitoring” and “positive
Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The
use, distribution or reproduction in other responsivity” of parenting behavior. Furthermore, these two parenting behaviors
forums is permitted, provided the original affected children’s prosocial behavior and hyperactivity/inattention. These
author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are
findings suggest that an intensive parenting attitude has some impact on
credited and that the original publication in
this journal is cited, in accordance with children as well as mothers, both positively and negatively, pointing to a serious
accepted academic practice. No use, effect on society.
distribution or reproduction is permitted
which does not comply with these terms.
KEYWORDS

intensive parenting attitude, intensive mothering, positive responsivity, involvement

and monitoring, prosocial behavior, hyperactivity/inattention

1 Introduction
Motherhood brings numerous changes to women’s lives, including their appearance, inner
hormonal balance, mental health, and perceptions (Hrdy, 2000). However, what may make a
decisive difference is the people around and the society to which the mother belongs. Many
scholars have suggested that the “myth of motherhood” has a considerable impact on people
in some developed countries (e.g., United States, United Kingdom, and Japan)—the mother
herself often embraces an ideal image of the “good mother.”
Intensive parenting is an ideology that mothers’ emotion, energy, time, and money should
be focused on their children (Hays, 1996). It is suggested that this has been a major strategy
of parenting in many developed countries. Furthermore, as the study of “intensive parenting”
garnered increased attention, Liss et al. (2013) developed and validated a corresponding
“intensive parenting attitude” scale. This questionnaire has five factors: Essentialism, the

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notion that women are inherently better at parenting than men and Swank, 2018). Specifically, all factors of the intensive parenting
are exclusively given the role of child-rearing; Fulfillment, the belief attitude were positively correlated with separation anxiety in the
that parenting should be fulfilling and a delight; Stimulation, the idea Parental Investment in the Child Questionnaire (PIC) but Fulfillment
that children should be cognitively and intellectually stimulated by was positively correlated with “delight” in the PIC and “satisfaction”
parents; Challenging, the belief that parenting is difficult and the most in the Parenting Sense of Competence scale (Liss et al., 2013). Rizzo
demanding job; and Child-centered, the notion that parents should et al. (2013) found that Essentialism was negatively correlated with life
prioritize the needs of the child above all else. Both mothers’ and satisfaction, and Challenging was positively correlated with depression
fathers’ time spent with children has increased since the 1960s (Sayer and stress. Meeussen and Van Laar (2018) reported that mothers’
et al., 2004). However, while both parents have shown changes in their intensive mothering beliefs affected parental burnout via maternal
attitudes, it is especially evident in mothers due to the influence of a gatekeeping behaviors. Based on in-depth interviews, Wall (2010)
separate ideological sphere (Cha, 2010). While social scientists have indicated that intensive parenting could increase maternal stress,
attributed these differences in parenting attitudes to factors such as exhaustion, anxiety, and guilt. Similarly, qualitative methods showed
parental financial status (Elliott et al., 2015), working status that unrealistic expectation derived from intensive mothering led
(Christopher, 2012), or educational background (Walls et al., 2014), mothers to struggle with meeting that demand, as a result, they felt a
there is also a notable prevalence of a strong belief in intensive sense of guilt and self-blame when they could not achieve being an
parenting in developed countries (Bennet et al., 2012; Ishizuka, 2019). ideal mother (Prikhidko and Swank, 2018). In short, an intensive
For instance, intensive parenting has been studied extensively in parenting attitude partly had a positive effect on the maternal
countries like the United States (Gunderson and Barrett, 2015), the psychological state (i.e., parental efficacy and delight); however, mostly
United Kingdom (Cappellini et al., 2019), Canada (Wall, 2010), France it could damage maternal mental health and well-being.
(Loyal et al., 2017), Australia (Craig et al., 2014), and Japan Moreover, an intensive parenting attitude can affect maternal
(Egami, 2020). behavior, especially to preschoolers. Schiffrin et al. (2015) found that
In Japan, a high degree of intensive parenting attitude was found maternal intensive parenting attitude—especially those rooted in
among mothers with preschool children, and especially they strongly Essentialism, Stimulation, and Child-centered—were related to
embraced Essentialism (Egami, 2020). A great deal of research has anticipatory problem-solving behavior indicative of overparenting as
been conducted on mother–child ties and maternal devotion to described by Segrin et al. (2012). This overparenting behavior was, in
children in Japan (Kashiwagi, 1998). While recently Japanese women turn, associated with a higher likelihood of enrolling children in
have changed to being more individualistic and working outside after structured activities, including creative and physical ones. Fischer
childbearing, there is a strong belief in the myth of motherhood and (2022) reported that five-year-olds’ parents who had a high degree of
ideal images of good mothers (Aono and Kashiwagi, 2011). What or intensive parenting attitude showed higher probability of reading to
whom could this affect? Egami (2005, 2007, 2013) showed the their children more frequently. Also, Essentialism and Challenging of
influence of the belief in “maternal love,” defined as unconditional intensive parenting attitude were positively correlated with maternal
maternal love for children, on mothers’ behavior toward children. In “parent anger experience” and “parent anger expression” (Prikhidko
particular, the influence of this belief had a double-sided effect on and Swank, 2019). This study indicated that mothers who rated high
maternal behaviors. Despite a background of gender disparity—for on Essentialism and Challenging may be exhausted but have
example, see the Global Gender Gap Index 2023 (World Economic insufficient self-care because of a high degree of the responsibility for
Forum, 2023)—Egami (2017) stated that adherence to maternal love children. Then, they might become angry and finally blame their
and devotion to their children is much stronger than endorsement of children. Furthermore, Egami (2020) conducted a comprehensive
the gender division of labor. Since intensive parenting attitude analysis of the intricate relationship between intensive parenting
encompasses five key factors, central to which is the belief that parents attitude and a spectrum of parenting behaviors (Ito et al., 2014),
should prioritize their children above all and remain devoted to them, encompassing practices such as “positive responsivity,” fostering a
such attitudes could be the driving force behind Japanese mothers’ “respect for will” (the child’s autonomy), active and diligent
strong sense of child-rearing responsibility. Thus, it is crucial to “involvement and monitoring,” alongside tendencies toward
investigate the impact of these attitudes on mothers in Japan where a “overprotection,” the application of “harsh discipline,” and behavioral
high degree of intensive parenting attitude is prevalent among mothers “inconsistency.” Consequently, every factor of intensive parenting
of preschool children. In summary, since Japanese mothers might attitude affected various maternal behaviors after controlling for social
embrace the belief in maternal love and devotion to children regardless support. Apparently, Essentialism had a negative effect on positive
of socioeconomic status, educational background, and social support, responsivity. In contrast, Fulfillment had positive effects on both
it is invaluable to determine how strong such an intensive parenting involvement and monitoring and positive responsivity. This result is
attitude is for Japanese mothers generally, using a measure commonly consistent with some previous research (Liss et al., 2013). Interestingly,
used around the world. Stimulation positively affected positive responsivity, respect for will,
and overprotection. According to the items related to Stimulation,
mothers who embraced these beliefs tend to be education-minded
1.1 Intensive parenting and its impact on parents. Although they may monitor their parenting behavior to
mothers ensure positive outcomes for their children, it is possible that they
engage deeply in intensive parenting practices. As might be expected,
Many scholars suggest that intensive parenting attitude harm Challenging was positively correlated with inconsistency and harsh
maternal mental health and well-being (Wall, 2010; Liss et al., 2013; discipline. This is because mothers being in a state of exhaustion will
Rizzo et al., 2013; Meeussen and Van Laar, 2018; Prikhidko and not have mild, stable, and consistent behavior toward their children.

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Surprisingly, being Child-centered affected more kinds of child- style of parenting leads to an emerging sense of entitlement in the
rearing behavior than any other factor. In particular, mothers who child. Although some scholars suggested that this type of parenting
rated high on Child-centered had lower involvement and monitoring, brought their children academic success (Carolan and Wasserman,
overprotection, and harsh discipline, but higher respect for will. These 2015), others indicated that it may harm children’s mental health in
results suggested that those who rated high on Child-centered might particular during adolescence (Leung, 2020). However, the effects on
have tried to respect their children’s thought, seeking not to a young child’s development have yet to be revealed.
be intrusive toward their children’s feelings, and to have a warm There has been much research on the relationship between
attitude toward them. parenting (behavior or type) and child development in Japan. For
In addition, there is some research on the effect of intensive example, Sugawara et al. (2002) found that a maternal warm attitude
parenting attitude, which suggested a relationship between intensive toward children predicted lower depression in school-aged children.
parenting attitude and maternal career ambitions (Meeussen and Van In addition, in the study of Matsuoka et al. (2011), mothers’ positive
Laar, 2018) or partner relationships (Williamson et al., 2023). rearing was negatively correlated with tendency for Attention-Deficit/
However, its effects on children have yet to be revealed using both Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a neurobiological condition
extensive questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Intensive parenting characterized by core symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and
attitude is less likely to directly relate to children’s outcomes since it is impulsivity (Chen et al., 2022), in preschool, elementary, and middle
only the idea or belief of mothers. Still, there is a possibility of affecting school children. As described, Japanese scholars implied that mothers’
children via the parenting behavior toward children. Since it is positive parenting behaviors rather than a particular parenting
suggested that parenting behavior affects outcomes of child behavior (i.e., overparenting) had a strong influence on their children.
development, intensive parenting attitude could affect outcomes for In their comprehensive meta-analysis, Ito et al. (2014) explored the
children via maternal parenting behavior. multifaceted nature of parenting, initially categorizing behaviors into
six distinct factors: involvement and monitoring, positive responsivity,
respect for will, overprotection, inconsistency, and harsh discipline.
1.2 Parenting and child development Crucially, their study further distilled these factors into two
overarching dimensions of parenting styles. The first three factors—
Many scholars and researchers have shown that parenting involvement and monitoring, positive responsivity, and respect for
behavior can affect children’s behavior and developmental outcome. will—were collectively identified as indicators of positive parenting
For example, Baumrind (1966, 1967, 1978, 1996, 2012) suggested that behavior. In contrast, the latter three elements—overprotection,
authoritative parenting could develop children’s self-control, inconsistency, and harsh discipline—were found to typify negative
positiveness, and friendly attitude. Authoritative parenting consists of parenting behavior. This bifurcation into positive and negative
inductive discipline, positive responsivity, respects for children’s will, parenting behaviors offers a nuanced framework for understanding
and clear communication with children. Since then, there have been the complex dynamics inherent in parent–child interactions. In
a growing number of studies in this field. Recently, Eti (2023) found addition, they found that positive parenting behavior was correlated
that the authoritative parenting style and supportive beliefs about with school-aged children’s prosocial behavior, but negative parenting
children’s emotions predicted children’s social skills. behavior was correlated with conduct problems of children. Moreover,
Related to intensive parenting attitude, studies on overparenting Murayama et al. (2018) indicated that negative parenting behaviors
and “concerted cultivation” have increased. Some scholars have were related to school-aged children’s experiences of bullying,
pointed out that overparenting has the potential to lead to including being the bully, the victim, and the bully-victim. Since the
developmentally inappropriate parenting through excessive advice, idea of second-order factors of parenting behavior is convincing
problem-solving behavior, and provision of unnecessary assistance, evidence of parenting behavior in Japan, I used these scales and items
combined with risk aversion (Segrin et al., 2012). This could manifest applied to parenting behavior toward preschool children.
as a problem when a child reaches emerging or young adulthood,
since individuals at that age need to develop autonomy and a sense of
control themselves (Winner and Nicholson, 2018; Segrin and Flora, 1.3 Research aims and hypotheses
2019; Hong and Cui, 2023). The effects of overparenting on young
children, e.g., preschoolers or school-aged, are not yet clear except for This study examines the impact of intensive parenting attitude on
studies by Bayer et al. (2006) and Gar and Hudson (2008). Although child developmental outcomes through maternal parenting. First, the
there is a paucity of research specifically focusing on the effects of relationships of five factors of intensive parenting attitude, six factors
overparenting in young children, the practice of concerted cultivation of maternal parenting behavior, and five components of children’s
has been more thoroughly examined and is commonly studied within outcomes were tested using correlational analysis to understand the
this age group. overall relationship. Then structural equation modeling (SEM) was
Concerted cultivation is to actively foster children’s talents and used to clarify the impact of intensive parenting attitude on both
skills through organized leisure activities and extensive reasoning mothers and children. However, as stated before, intensive parenting
behavior (Lareau, 2002). Concerted cultivation has been contrasted attitude would not directly relate to children’s outcomes because the
with “natural growth” (defined as providing the conditions under attitude is only the idea or belief of mothers. Therefore, I speculated
which children can grow but leaving leisure activities to children that intensive parenting attitude indirectly influenced children’s
themselves and giving them clear directives) in some studies. Lareau outcome via maternal parenting behavior because Egami (2020)
(2002) stated that the predominant parenting style among middle- or showed that intensive parenting attitude affected both positive and
upper-class families in the US is concerted cultivation, and that this negative maternal parenting behaviors. In addition, a growing body of

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previous research, such as that by Eti (2023), suggested that maternal H3: Fulfillment will increase positive parenting behavior and
parenting behaviors had a strong effect on children. decrease negative parenting behavior. Then, these will be positively
As mentioned above, many previous studies suggested that related to social development in children.
Essentialism and Challenging of intensive parenting attitude have
negative effects on maternal mental health and parenting behavior. In
the study of Egami (2020), Essentialism was related to a low level of H4: Child-centered and Stimulation will affect both positive and
positive parenting behavior (e.g., positive responsivity), and negative parenting behavior, so having double-sided effects
Challenging had a relationship with high level of negative parenting on children.
behaviors (e.g., inconsistency and harsh discipline). In contrast,
Fulfillment might increase maternal positive parenting behaviors (e.g., To effectively test the four hypotheses, controlling for the age of
positive responsivity and involvement and monitoring). Finally, this the children was essential, as this can influence maternal parenting
implied that Child-centered and Stimulation were both positively and behaviors and the outcomes for these children. For instance, within
negatively correlated with maternal parenting behaviors. While Child- the preschool age group, parents may differentiate their behaviors
centered could decrease negative parenting behaviors (e.g., between 2- and 6-year-olds, especially for monitoring, protecting,
overprotection and harsh discipline), its high rating was also related controlling, and discipline (Peterson et al., 1993). In addition, the
to a low level of positive parenting behavior (e.g., involvement and score of children’s outcomes can vary just due to their age (Croft et al.,
monitoring). Stimulation might enhance maternal positive parenting 2015). In sum, this study aims to clarify the impact of intensive
behaviors (e.g., positive responsivity and respect for will); however, it parenting attitude on not only mothers but also children through
could also increase negative parenting behavior (e.g., overprotection). verification of the four hypotheses. Egami (2020) stated that Japanese
Additionally, a number of scholars have stated that maternal parenting mothers’ tendency of intensive parenting attitude affected their
behavior does affect children, particularly their socioemotional parenting behavior toward their children. So, could the impact of
development (e.g., Baumrind, 2012). Baumrind’s (1966, 1967, 1978, intensive parenting attitude spill over to the children? If so, how does
1996, 2012) concept of authoritative parenting, often equated with it relate to them? To what extent does it correlate with them? Which
positive parenting, is linked to children’s self-control, positiveness, and part of intensive parenting attitudes could influence them? Revealing
a friendly attitude. By contrast, maternal negative parenting behavior these could show that the impact of intensive parenting attitude is
(i.e., harsh parenting) was correlated with the inability of children to significant in society.
regulate their emotions, as indicated by Chang et al. (2003).
Therefore, I constructed the process model such that the impact
of intensive parenting attitude would appear in maternal parenting 2 Materials and methods
behaviors, and these parenting behaviors might be related to children’s
social outcomes. Specifically, the goal of this study was to test four 2.1 Procedure
hypotheses (see Figure 1):
H1: Intensive parenting attitude will affect children’s social Respondents were asked to answer the questionnaire anonymously
development only via parenting behavior. via an Internet research company (Macromill Inc.), who ensured its
compliance with the privacy policy established by the Japan Marketing
H2: Essentialism and Challenging will increase negative parenting Research Association. To measure the impact of intensive parenting
behavior and decrease positive parenting behavior. Then, these attitude on parenting behavior over time, the survey was divided over
will lead to poor social development in children. two time periods: November 2017 and April 2018. Background

FIGURE 1
Hypothesized model of relations among intensive parenting attitude (excluding stimulation and child-centered), parenting behavior, and child
development.

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variables and the Japanese version of the Intensive Parenting Attitude inconsistency, and harsh discipline. The higher the score, the greater the
Questionnaire (J-IPAQ) were collected during the first time period, degree of each group of parenting behavior. This study changed PNPS
November 2017. The Positive and Negative Parenting Scale (PNPS) item expression “school” to “preschool, nursery, or kindergarten”
and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were measured because of the children’s age (the creator of this scale gave permission).
at the second period. The original scale has 35 items, eight items were eliminated from this
study after confirmatory factor analysis (Egami, 2020). Cronbach alpha
was 0.84 for involvement and monitoring (six items), 0.82 for positive
2.2 Participants responsivity (five items), 0.61 for respect for will (four items), 0.62 for
overprotection (three items), 0.81 for inconsistency (three items), and
Participants were 675 Japanese mothers aged 22–48 years (mean 0.85 for harsh discipline (six items) in this study.
34.7, standard deviation 5.0). They had at least one preschool-age child
(aged 1 years 6 months to 6 years 10 months), thereby holding relatively 2.3.3 SDQ
intense child-rearing responsibility. Most of them were housewives The SDQ is well-known scale measuring psychological attributes
(59.1%), and the rest were full-time workers (13.8%), part-time of children (Goodman, 1997). This study used the Japanese version of
workers (20.0%), or freelancers (7.1%). The majority were married SDQ (for the parents of 2–4-year-olds) based on Matsuishi et al.
(97.3%). Household annual income level was classed from 1 (less than (2008). It contains 25 items divided into five categories: “emotional
¥2 million) to 9 (more than ¥20 million). Class 3 (¥4 million to less symptoms,” “conduct problems,” “hyperactivity/inattention,” “peer
than ¥6 million) was the majority (29.5%), followed by class 2 (¥2 relationship problems,” and “prosocial behavior.” The SDQ is rated
million to less than ¥4 million; 18.7%) and class 4 (¥6 million to less from 0 (not true) to 2 (certainly true). The higher the score, the greater
than ¥8 million; 13.3%). Average household annual income was about the degree of each dimension of psychological attributes. Cronbach
¥5.7 million in Japan at that time, so most of them fitted into the alpha in this study was 0.80 for prosocial behavior (five items), 0.67
average income category. About one-quarter of them (23.4%) had at for hyperactivity/inattention (five items), 0.62 for emotional symptoms
least a high school education, 35.7% graduated professional training (five items), 0.49 for conduct problems (five items), and 0.49 for peer
college or junior college, and 36.9% of them had a bachelor’s degree. relationship problems (five items).
The length of education was 9–21 years (mean 14.2, standard
deviation 1.77).
3 Results
2.3 Measures Descriptive statistics are shown in Table 1. Stimulation,
Challenging, respect for will, overprotection, emotional symptoms,
2.3.1 J-IPAQ conduct problems, and peer relationship problems were not used in
Egami (2020) constructed a Japanese version of the intensive the following analysis because of low internal consistency
parenting attitude questionnaire, and both validity and reliability were (Cronbachα < 0.65). The factors’ scores for J-IPAQ and PNPS were
confirmed. The original IPAQ of Liss et al. (2013) included five averaged by the number of items, but were summed up for the
categories: Essentialism, Fulfillment, Stimulation, Challenging, and contained items in SDQ. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis
Child-centered. Essentialism, in the context of motherhood, posits were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (ver. 27.0) and structural
that mothers have a natural and exclusive role in raising their children. equation modeling (SEM) analysis using Amos (ver. 28.0).
Fulfillment is the notion that child-rearing always brings joy and
rewards for parents. Stimulation is the idea that parents must develop
their children’s intellectual ability. Challenging refers to the difficulty, 3.1 Correlation analysis
exhaustion, and tiredness accompanying parenting. Child-centered is
the belief that children must be the center of parents’ lives and Correlations between all measures are shown in Table 2. Some
children’s needs should be prioritized before anything else. The IPAQ correlation relationships appeared but correlation coefficients were
includes 25 items; however, J-IPAQ consists of 20 items (Egami, 2020). relatively low. Most factors of intensive parenting attitude were
The J-IPAQ is rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree), correlated with parenting behavior. While Essentialism was positively
the higher the score, the greater the degree of each dimension of correlated with the negative parenting behavior, both Fulfillment and
intensive parenting attitude. Cronbach alpha in this study was 0.73 for Child-centered were negatively correlated with such behavior and
Essentialism (six items), 0.75 for Fulfillment (three items), 0.57 for positively correlated with positive parenting behavior. As expected, the
Stimulation (four items), 0.63 for Challenging (four items), and 0.68 factors concerning intensive parenting attitude were rarely related with
for Child-centered (three items). children’s outcomes. Still, Essentialism was positively correlated with
hyperactivity/inattention, and Fulfillment was positively correlated
2.3.2 PNPS with prosocial behavior of children. Then, most maternal parenting
Ito et al. (2014) constructed the PNPS, which consists of 35 items, behaviors had a connection with children’s outcomes. My research
divided into involvement and monitoring, positive responsivity, respect indicates a distinct relationship between parenting behaviors and child
for will, overprotection, inconsistency, and harsh discipline. The PNPS outcomes. Positive parenting, marked by involvement and monitoring
is rated from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). Positive parenting behavior or positive responsivity, correlates with beneficial outcomes in children,
includes involvement and monitoring, positive responsivity, and respect such as improved social skills and lower behavioral problems. This
for will. Negative parenting behavior contains overprotection, suggests that positive parenting actively fosters a nurturing

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environment crucial for children’s healthy development. On the other adequately capture the complexities of the relationships between
hand, negative parenting behaviors, including harsh discipline or intensive parenting attitude, maternal parenting behaviors, and
inconsistency, are linked to adverse child outcomes, such as behavioral children’s developmental outcomes. Further refinement and testing of
problems and lower prosocial behavior. Importantly, this study’s the model are necessary to develop a more accurate representation of
findings highlight that negative parenting does not inversely contribute these dynamics. Therefore, inconsistency and harsh discipline were
(i.e., by its absence) to positive child outcomes. This distinction eliminated since their standardized coefficients yielded 1 (Model 2).
underscores that positive child development is more directly a result of Next, the non-significant paths were deleted (Model 3). Then, for fixed
positive parenting practices, rather than merely the absence of negative parameters, some covariances were added (Model 4). After confirming
ones. These insights affirm the critical role of positive parenting in validity and reliability of all factors (Table 4), some items were
promoting not just the avoidance of harm, but in actively supporting removed because they caused the score of AVE and CR to decrease.
comprehensive child development. Finally, the proposed model (as shown in Figure 2) fitted the data
reasonably well: χ2(409) = 653.14 (p < 0.001), GFI = 0.94, AGFI = 0.93,
CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.03, AIC = 827.14, CAIC = 1306.92. Due to the
3.2 SEM analysis large sample size of the study, the chi-square score was significant.
Based on correlation coefficients in Table 2, multicollinearity was not
The theoretical model proposed in this study, accounting for the found among scales. All items’ coefficients and the score of AVE
influence of children’s age on both parenting behaviors and children’s (average variance extracted; validity score) and CR (composite
outcomes, was rigorously tested using SEM (Tables 3, 4 and Figure 2). reliability; reliability score) are shown in Table 4. Fornell and Larcker
However, the analysis yielded an implausible score, indicating that the (1981) suggest that the criteria (AVE ≧ 0.4, CR ≧ 0.6) are desirable;
model did not accurately reflect the data (Model 1). This outcome however, when AVE is near 0.4, the scale has validity and reliability, if
suggests that the theoretical framework, as constructed, may not CR is over 0.6. Thus, most scales confirmed both validity and reliability
except for Child-centered. Still, the proposed model including Child-
TABLE 1 Descriptive statistics of the main variables (N = 675). centered was accepted since the factor’s Cronbach α was relatively
high (α = 0.68) despite including only three items. Additionally, Child-
M SD Possible Actual centered in J-IPAQ was confirmed in Egami (2020), which used a
range range
similar sample to that for this study and the coefficient scores in these
Essentialism 3.69 0.78 1–6 1.17–6 data were all significant.
Fulfillment 4.35 0.89 1–6 1–6 Figure 2 presents relationships between intensive parenting
Child-centered 3.93 0.81 1–6 1–6 attitude and children’s outcomes through parenting behaviors as well
the standardized coefficient of each path. As mentioned above,
Involvement and 3.04 0.97 1–5 1–5
Hypothesis 1 is that intensive parenting attitude has no direct effect
monitoring
on children’s outcomes; nonetheless, the analysis confirmed an
Positive 4.25 0.59 1–5 1.20–5 indirect effect of parenting behavior on children’s outcomes, thereby
responsivity substantiating the hypothesis. Hypotheses 2 and 3 that Essentialism
Inconsistency 2.97 0.71 1–5 1–5 and Challenging have negative impacts on children’s outcomes
Harsh discipline 2.79 0.67 1–5 1–5 through parenting behavior, and that Fulfillment has positive impacts,
were both partially supported. Moreover, Hypothesis 4 that
Prosocial behavior 5.50 2.43 0–10 0–10
Stimulation and Child-centered would have both positive and negative
Hyperactivity/ 3.95 2.22 0–10 0–10
effects on children’s outcomes via parenting behavior was
inattention
partly supported.

TABLE 2 Correlations between the measures (N = 675).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Essentialism

Fulfillment 0.14***

Child-centered 0.28*** 0.46***

Involvement and −0.06 0.14*** −0.01

monitoring

Positive responsivity −0.07 0.35*** 0.23*** 0.17***

Inconsistency 0.13** −0.08* −0.02 −0.02 −0.22***

Harsh discipline 0.10* −0.13** −0.12** 0.03 −0.28*** 0.69***

Prosocial behavior −0.02 0.21*** 0.05 0.51*** 0.26*** −0.06 −0.06

Hyperactivity/ 0.11** −0.10** 0.06 −0.30*** −0.22*** 0.12** 0.18*** −0.42***

inattention
***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

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TABLE 3 The goodness-of-fit score in all models (N = 675).

Model Chi-square GFI AGFI CFI RMSEA AIC CAIC

Model 1 1995.06*** 0.87 0.86 0.88 0.05 2223.06 2851.74

Model 2 1291.20*** 0.90 0.88 0.88 0.05 1457.20 1914.92

Model 3 1010.81*** 0.92 0.90 0.92 0.04 1190.81 1687.13

Model 4 772.40*** 0.93 0.92 0.95 0.03 956.40 1463.75

The proposed 653.14*** 0.94 0.93 0.96 0.03 827.14 1306.92

model
***p < 0.001.

The more Essentialism mothers had, the less positive responsivity was closely related to anticipatory problem-solving behavior.
they exhibited (β = −0.23) (Figure 2). Consequently, less positive Moreover, while being Child-centered was correlated with low life
responsivity was associated with reduced prosocial behavior in satisfaction of mothers in the study of Rizzo et al. (2013), it was
children (β = 0.15). The more Fulfillment mothers experienced, the correlated with parental delight and efficacy for Liss et al. (2013).
greater their involvement and monitoring (β = 0.48). Then parenting Probably, Child-centered belief can have both positive and negative
behavior could increase prosocial behavior (β = 0.62) and decrease aspects for mothers, and might depend on the culture and situation
hyperactivity/inattention (β = −0.54) of children. Finally, the more surrounding them.
Child-centered they were, the less involvement and monitoring they As mentioned above, there were many patterns of correlations
exhibited (β = −0.33) yet they displayed more positive responsivity between intensive parenting attitude and maternal parenting behavior,
(β = 0.46). Through these path lines, being Child-centered had double- however, correlations between intensive parenting attitude and child
edged impacts on children’s outcomes. outcomes were rarely seen. While measurements of intensive
parenting attitude were conducted in April 2018, social development
of children was obtained in November 2017. Given this timeline,
4 Discussion “intensive parenting attitude” can be considered a potential predictor
of the perception of social development in children. This may indicate
This study examined the impact of intensive parenting attitude on that the positive view of child-rearing leads to a positive bias on child
children’s social developmental outcomes via maternal parenting development. Conversely, Essentialism tends to have a negative effect
behavior. In summary, most of the hypotheses were supported to some on child development and to indicate mothers’ tiredness (Meeussen
degree. Schiffrin et al. (2015) found that intensive parenting attitude and Van Laar, 2018). The correlation pattern of maternal parenting
was related to anticipatory problem-solving behavior and children’s behavior and child outcomes was the same as found by Ito et al.
gross motor skills through enrollment in structured activities (2014), other than the relationship between negative parenting
including creative and physical activities. However, their study was behavior and children’s positive outcomes. Since these data were
limited to only one parenting behavior and its effect was seen only in collected at the same time, children’s outcomes might affect maternal
the outcomes of gross motor skill of children. In contrast, Egami behavior, and vice versa.
(2020) suggested that intensive parenting attitude affected maternal Although the correlational analysis revealed numerous
parenting behavior; however, its influence on children was not relationships among variables, only a subset of these correlations was
examined. Therefore, the results of this study, including correlations, substantiated by the SEM analysis. The results indicated that
are worthy of a closer look. Essentialism diminished the capacity of mothers to engage warmly
First, Japanese mothers embraced Essentialism at a high rate with their children, which negatively impacted maternal positive
(Egami, 2020). Given that Essentialism was positively correlated with responsivity and consequently reduced children’s prosocial behavior.
negative parenting behaviors (i.e., inconsistency and harsh discipline), This aligns with research suggesting that Essentialism can foster a
there is a need to investigate the risk of this belief to both mothers and negative mindset in mothers (Liss et al., 2013; Rizzo et al., 2013;
children in Japan. As suggested by Rizzo et al. (2013) and others, Meeussen and Van Laar, 2018), thereby impairing their ability to
Essentialism could harm not only mothers but also their children. interact positively with their children. In Japan, Egami (2005, 2007)
Second, Fulfillment was positively related with positive parenting showed that belief in maternal love negatively influenced mothers’
behaviors (i.e., involvement and monitoring, and positive responsivity) emotional regulation and expression toward children according to the
and negatively with negative parenting behaviors. Because this result situation surrounding mothers. Therefore, Essentialism damaged not
seems consistent with that of Liss et al. (2013), mothers’ parental only mothers’ mental health but also that of young children. Next, as
efficacy and delight in parenting could lead to their positive parenting expected, Fulfillment increased involvement and monitoring and
behavior. Finally, being Child-centered was related to parenting positively influenced children’s prosocial behavior and negatively
behaviors (positive responsivity and harsh discipline). Correlation affected hyperactivity/inattention. According to Liss et al. (2013),
analysis revealed the positiveness of Child-centered attitude; however, Fulfillment can lead to maternal parenting efficacy and delight. Thus,
SEM analysis showed that this belief had double-sided effects. mothers who embrace Fulfillment pour their energy into parenting
Although Schiffrin et al. (2015) indicated that Child-centered attitude behavior and engage positively with their children. Lastly, this study
might affect anticipatory problem-solving behavior, Egami (2020) showed that Child-centered attitude had a double-sided effect on
found that it had a negative relationship with overprotection which positive parenting behavior—it increased positive responsivity but

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Frontiers in Psychology

Egami
TABLE 4 List of all item’s coefficients and the score of AVE and CR (N = 675).

Factor Item Standardized AVE CR Factor Item Standardized AVE CR Factor Item Standardized AVE CR
number coefficient number coefficient number coefficient
Essentialism 2 0.53*** 0.38 0.74 Involvement 6 0.59*** 0.43 0.82 Prosocial 1 0.58*** 0.38 0.75
and behavior
monitoring

4 0.40*** 10 0.82*** 4 0.58***

12 0.67*** 19 0.65*** 9 0.71***

17 0.74*** 20 0.60*** 17 0.62***

08

20 0.67*** 24 0.57*** 20 0.58***

Fulfillment 7 0.72*** 0.48 0.74 29 0.68***

14 0.72*** Positive 11 0.63*** 0.48 0.82 Hyperactivity/ 2 0.52*** 0.40 0.66

responsivity inattention

18 0.65*** 13 0.73*** 21 0.64***

Child-centered 11 0.47*** 0.25 0.49 18 0.73*** 25 0.72***

19 0.64*** 27 0.68***

24 0.36*** 35 0.70***
***p < 0.001.

10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1337531
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Egami 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1337531

FIGURE 2
Graphical overview of significant paths in the final model (***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05).

decreased involvement and monitoring. This indicated that Child- parenting, potentially impacting a child’s social and emotional
centered attitude had both positive and negative impacts on children’s development. It highlights the need for a balance between high
social development outcomes. As mentioned above, being Child- parental aspirations and realistic expectations, suggesting a shift in
centered had a double-sided effect in some previous studies. societal attitudes toward a more compassionate and feasible approach
Interestingly, Egami (2020) noted that Child-centered was negatively to parenting.
related to involvement and monitoring and overprotection; however,
Schiffrin et al. (2015) showed that it had a positive relationship with
anticipated problem-solving behavior. Similarly, while Child-centered 4.2 Limitations and future directions
attitude was negatively correlated with maternal life satisfaction (Rizzo
et al., 2013), it was positively related to delight and efficacy as a parent This study revealed the impact of intensive parenting attitude on
(Liss et al., 2013). The belief of “for the sake of children” (i.e., a child child development via maternal parenting behavior. However, the
centered approach) might make parents think from a child’s point of study has some limitations. First, the data of maternal parenting
view. This idea can work differently under a wide variety of behavior and children’s developmental outcomes were collected at the
circumstances and cultures. In Japan, this may lead to more lenient same time. Therefore, it is impossible to establish a clear causal
parenting behavior (e.g., a natural growth strategy) as well as positive relationship between maternal parenting behavior and outcomes for
attitudes toward children. The findings suggest that an intensive children. This underscores the need for a longitudinal research
parenting attitude has both positive and negative effects on mothers approach. Second, the data for this study were derived from mothers’
and children alike, pointing to potentially far-reaching implications self-reports only; however, mixed methods are required to produce
for our society at large. more solid data. For example, in-depth interviews of mothers or
observations of mother–child interactions are needed for research on
intensive parenting attitude and maternal parenting behaviors. Third,
4.1 Conclusion this study utilized the parent-rated version of the SDQ to assess child
behavior. While this version effectively captures the child’s behavior at
Hypothesis 1 was supported and Hypotheses 2, 3, and 4 were home, it is important to note that it may not fully represent their
partially supported. Therefore, intensive parenting attitude had some behavior in other environments, such as in the educational settings.
effects on children as well as mothers. At the same time, this had a Typically, the SDQ is also available in a teacher-rated version, which
double-sided impact. Some factors of intensive parenting attitude can provide complementary insights into the child’s behavior across
might be related to parenting efficacy and positive maternal feelings different settings. The absence of the teacher-rated SDQ in this study
related to child-rearing (Liss et al., 2013; Egami, 2020), and others could be considered a limitation, as it restricts the scope of behavioral
could be connected to less positive responses toward children through assessment in the home. Therefore, the results should be interpreted
maternal stress and tiredness. The “parenthood paradox,” as with caution, especially when generalizing about the child’s overall
mentioned in Rizzo et al. (2013), reflects a unique dilemma in which behavior or the impact of intensive parenting attitude. Fourth, this
maternal efforts to achieve perfection in parenting can ironically lead study’s analysis on intensive parenting attitude is limited to three
to increased stress and negative attitudes toward their children. This factors because of the low reliability of the other two factors
phenomenon underscores the unintended consequences of intensive (Stimulation and Challenging). In addition, the low AVE and CR

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Egami 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1337531

scores of Child-centered require further consideration and careful Funding

interpretation. Child-centered in this study might be labeled as a
provisional factor, and there is a need for further replication. Future The author declares financial support was received for the
research on intensive parenting attitude should examine how all five research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research
factors of intensive parenting attitude affect maternal mental parenting was partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 23730616
behavior, especially negative parenting behaviors and children’s social and a grant from the Center of Developmental Education
outcomes. Through these research plans, the impact of intensive and Research.
parenting attitude would give strong messages to our society, which
includes mothers and children. Furthermore, there has been little
research on intensive parenting attitude in Asia. Convincing research Acknowledgments
findings are needed to offer extensive and effective support for child-
rearing, especially in Asian countries, including Japan. My heartfelt thanks go out to each mother who shared her
precious time to contribute to my survey. Your insights are not
only appreciated but are also fundamental to the success of
Data availability statement my study.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will

be made available by the author, without undue reservation. Conflict of interest
The author declares that the research was conducted in the
Ethics statement absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The studies involving humans were approved by the Ethics
Committee in the Faculty of Education, Ehime University. The studies
were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and Publisher’s note
institutional requirements. The participants provided their written
informed consent to participate in this study. All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
Author contributions reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim
that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed
SE: Writing – original draft. by the publisher.

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