Actor-partner interdependence between socially prescribed parenting perfectionism and overparenting among Chinese parents over time: Does family income matter?

Overparenting is an emerging parenting style characterized by parents’ excessive involvement in ensuring their children’s future success and happiness. This often entails intruding into their children’s daily routines and future plans, removing obstacles that may impede achievement, and providing disproportionate support. Although overparenting has garnered attention from family scholars over the past two decades, its antecedents have rarely been examined in the social science literature. Drawing on data from 642 Chinese families in Hong Kong, this study investigated the interdependence between fathers and mothers in the associations between socially prescribed parenting perfectionism and overparenting over time, as well as the moderating role of family income in these associations. The results indicated that mothers’ socially prescribed parenting perfectionism was positively associated with both paternal and maternal overparenting over time. In contrast, fathers’ socially prescribed parenting perfectionism was not significantly related to either paternal or maternal overparenting over time. Furthermore, the relationship between mothers’ socially prescribed parenting perfectionism and maternal overparenting was positive and significant over time only in families with middle-range incomes; this relationship was not significant in either low-income or high-income families. These findings support the anxious rearing model, suggesting that mothers’ high parenting standards, driven by social expectations, serve as antecedents of both paternal and maternal overparenting over time. However, the actor effect occurs only in families with middle-range incomes. This study provides new insights into the development of Chinese socialization models related to overparenting and informs the design of intervention strategies to support affected families.