Breaking Through Class Solidification: A Study on the Relationship Between Family Socioeconomic Status and Preschool Children's Social–Emotional Competence

BACKGROUND: To gain a deeper understanding of the transmission pathways of socioeconomic inequality in early childhood development and to explore strategies for breaking its intergenerational transmission, this study, grounded in family resilience theory, examines the relationship between family socioeconomic status and preschool children's social-emotional competence, as well as the underlying mediating variables. METHODS: Using stratified random sampling, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 690 parents of preschool children in central China. RESULTS: The results indicate that (1) parental expectations play a significant mediating role between family socioeconomic status and children's social-emotional competence, suggesting that socioeconomic advantages are partially translated into effective investments in children's competency development by enhancing parents' educational and developmental expectations and (2) parental involvement and support play a significant moderating role in this pathway; particularly in low-socioeconomic-status families, high levels of parental involvement can effectively buffer the negative impact of resource scarcity on children's social-emotional competence and weaken the predetermining effect of family socioeconomic status on developmental outcomes. CONCLUSION: Therefore, systematic family education guidance and psychological support services should be established to enhance the internal resilience of disadvantaged families. This creates more equitable developmental opportunities for children in the early stages and provides a viable pathway to breaking the cycle of social stratification.