Bridging Cultural Scripts and Psychological Mechanisms: A Review of Maternal Stress in Contemporary China

Maternal stress is a growing mental health concern in China, yet existing frameworks remain fragmented. Western research has established clear cognitive–emotional mechanisms such as self-discrepancy, rumination, and shame, while Chinese studies have largely focused on sociocultural expectations surrounding motherhood. However, the pathway through which cultural pressures become internalised as psychological distress has been insufficiently explained. This review integrates evidence from Western psychological models, East Asian cultural norms, and empirical research on Chinese families to provide a more comprehensive understanding of maternal stress in contemporary China. The synthesis highlights that emotional challenges arise from the interaction between individual vulnerability and culturally embedded expectations shaped by familism, intergenerational caregiving, and performance-driven parenting. By situating psychological processes within their cultural and relational contexts, this review extends current maternal mental health theories and underscores the need for culturally informed assessment and intervention strategies. Future research should adopt longitudinal and family-level approaches and include more diverse maternal populations to strengthen the applicability of theoretical models.