Network analysis of the associations among parental age, primary caregivers, parenting stress, and children’s emotional–behavioral difficulties

Parenting stress is a central mechanism associated with parental and caregiving characteristics and children’s socioemotional development. However, the combined role of parental age and primary caregiver role in these associations remains unclear. This study applied network analysis to examine their associations with parenting stress and children’s emotional–behavioral difficulties. A cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2023 among 2454 parents from 22 schools in Xinzhou District, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, China. Participants completed questionnaires assessing parental age, primary caregiver role, parenting stress, and children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. We conducted correlation analyses, ANOVAs, and network analysis to identify conditional associations and central nodes. Correlation analyses revealed relatively weak associations between parental age and children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties overall. Further group comparisons revealed that children of older fathers showed slightly higher levels of conduct problems, whereas older fathers themselves reported lower depression compared with younger age groups. Primary caregiver role also mattered: children raised primarily by mothers displayed fewer emotional difficulties, while those raised by fathers or other caregivers (e.g., grandparents) had relatively greater emotional-behavioral difficulties. Network analysis showed that difficult child characteristics and children’s emotional symptoms acted as central bridging nodes linking parenting stress and child outcomes, with parental distress showing high connectivity within the parenting stress community. Subgroup networks confirmed these patterns, with the difficult child consistently central across caregiver groups. Parental age and primary caregiving roles show distinct patterns of association with parenting stress and children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. These patterns highlight the relevance of addressing both parental stress experiences and children’s emotional needs within family-oriented support approaches. Future longitudinal and cross-cultural research is needed to clarify these associations and to evaluate whether caregiver-specific interventions can enhance outcomes across diverse family contexts.