Parental Educational Anxiety during School Transition Stages: Latent Classes and Latent Transition Analysis

Abstract Parental educational anxiety has become a widespread social phenomenon in contemporary China. Based on a two-year longitudinal survey of 1,578 parents across four critical school transition stages (preschool-to-primary, primary-to-junior high, junior-to-senior high, and senior high-to-college), this study employs Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) to reveal the dynamic heterogeneity of parental educational anxiety. Results identify three latent classes (low, moderate, high), demonstrating a "double-peaked fluctuation" pattern: anxiety surges during the preschool-to-primary transition and plummets sharply after college entrance. A dual anxiety peak (academic performance and school choice) at the junior-to-senior high transition highlights the stress of exam-based tracking, while a singular academic anxiety peak at the senior high-to-college transition confirms the ultimate screening function of the national college entrance examination. Gender disparities show mothers’ anxiety intensifies due to internalized caregiving roles, while highly educated parents exhibit exacerbated late-stage anxiety attributed to the "curse of knowledge." Urban parents’ anxiety spikes during preschool and college transitions reflect class reproduction imperatives. Economic capital alleviates anxiety during secondary education, whereas firstborn families demonstrate reduced anxiety in basic education due to parenting experience. The study advocates optimizing educational system design to mitigate pressure accumulation at critical transitions and implementing differentiated interventions targeting high-risk groups and key influencing factors.