Cultural Capital and Self-Control: The Mediating Roles of Concentration, Empathy, and Peer Interaction in Early Childhood

This study examined whether family cultural capital is associated with preschoolers’ executive function (EF) problems through two socioemotional pathways: concentration–empathy and peer interaction ability. In a cross-sectional study, we collected data from 354 children ( M age = 4.8 years, SD = 0.9) in six public kindergartens in Fujian Province, China, through stratified cluster sampling. Teachers rated children’s EF problems, concentration–empathy, and peer interaction ability, and parents reported family cultural capital using validated instruments. Structural equation modeling showed no significant direct association between family cultural capital and EF problems, but significant indirect associations via concentration–empathy and peer interaction ability. A significant sequential indirect effect also emerged: family cultural capital was associated with higher concentration–empathy, which was associated with better peer interaction ability and, in turn, fewer EF problems. These findings suggest that higher family cultural capital is indirectly associated with fewer EF problems through concentration–empathy and peer interaction ability. They also highlight socioemotional processes as potential pathways linking family resources to children’s EF problems in a non-Western early childhood context. Given the correlational design, longitudinal or experimental studies are needed to test causal pathways and evaluate culturally responsive interventions targeting these mediators.