Abstract
BACKGROUND: Experiencing emotional-behavioral problems during the preschool years can significantly hinder children's development and learning. While physical activity (PA) is recognized as beneficial for mitigating emotional-behavioral problems, the specific role of parental sports support and its underlying mechanisms remains underexplored. This study examined the relationship between parental sports support and emotional-behavioral problems in preschool children, investigating the individual and chain mediating roles of children's exercise habits and the parent-child relationship. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 4,358 parents of children aged 3-6 years in Hunan Province, China, using convenience sampling (2,252 boys, 2,106 girls; mean age 4.4 years). Variables were measured using the Parental Sports Support Scale, the Preschoolers' Exercise Habits Scale, the Parent-Child Relationship Scale, and the Emotional-Behavioral Problems Scale. A chain mediation model was tested using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. RESULTS: Parental sports support was significantly and negatively associated with preschoolers' emotional-behavioral problems (β = -0.085, p < 0.001). Both children's exercise habits and the parent-child relationship served as partial mediators in this association, with the mediating effect of the parent-child relationship (effect = -0.032, 95% CI: [ -0.042, -0.021]) being stronger than that of exercise habits (effect = -0.010, 95% CI: [-0.013, -0.007]). Furthermore, a significant chain mediation was identified: parental sports support was linked to fewer emotional-behavioral problems through a sequential pathway involving increased exercise habits, which in turn fostered a more positive parent-child relationship (effect = -0.014, 95% CI: [-0.017, -0.011]). The total indirect effect accounted for 65.12% of the total effect. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that parental sports support is associated with lower levels of emotional-behavioral problems both directly and indirectly through its relationship with healthier exercise habits and improved parent-child relationships. These results identify pathways through which parental sports involvement is associated with child mental health and suggest that family-centered physical activity interventions may be a valuable approach for addressing emotional-behavioral problems in early childhood. However, due to the cross-sectional design, this study can identify associations but not causal relationships.