Overreactive parenting links maternal depressive symptoms and child prosocial behaviors among mother-child dyads in Western China

BACKGROUND: Children's prosocial development may be influenced by maternal depressive symptoms (MDS), but how overreactive parenting relates to both factors remains unclear. This study examined the associations among overreactive parenting, MDS, and child prosocial behaviors from mother-child dyads in western China. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 16,258 mother-child dyads when children were aged 3-6 years. Data were collected between February 28 and March 5, 2025. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure MDS. Children's prosocial behavior was assessed through the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Overreactive parenting was evaluated using the Parenting Scale. Associations between MDS, overreactive parenting, and child prosocial behavior were analyzed using linear and logistic regression. Indirect effects analysis was conducted to examine whether a significant proportion of the association between MDS and child prosocial behavior was shared with overreactive parenting. RESULTS: Among 16,258 mother-child dyads, 47.8% (n = 7,766) of children had prosocial behavior scores below 6, indicating potential prosocial behavior problems. Mothers with elevated depressive symptoms (CES-D score ≥ 16) had significantly higher levels of overreactive parenting (β = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.48-0.57, P < 0.0001) and were more likely to have children with prosocial behavior problems (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.58-1.88, P < 0.0001) compared to mothers without significant depressive symptoms. Furthermore, each one-unit increase in overreactive parenting score was associated with higher odds of child prosocial behavior problems (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.46-1.55, P < 0.0001). Indirect effects analysis revealed that overreactive parenting accounted for 35.9% of the association between MDS and child prosocial behavior. CONCLUSIONS: MDS are associated with reduced prosocial behavior in preschool children from western China, and overreactive parenting links MDS and child prosocial behaviors.