Intergenerational transmission of academic anxiety in China: Linking parental work–family conflict to children's learning engagement under “double reduction”

Objective This study aimed to systematically investigate how parental work–family conflict influences children's learning engagement through the mechanism of intergenerational anxiety transmission, as well as to explore potential differential pathways between fathers and mothers. Background Although China's “Double Reduction” policy reduces students' academic load, it also reshapes family educational roles and emotional climates. Yet, how parental work–family conflict influences children's learning in this new context remains underexplored. Method A total of 387 families participated in the study. Mothers and fathers completed the questionnaire, including questions regarding work–family conflict and educational anxiety. Children completed scales measuring academic anxiety and learning engagement. Results The results indicate that at the overall family level, parental work–family conflict is significantly correlated with children's learning engagement, with children's academic anxiety serving as an independent mediator, and the chained mediation pathway of “parental conflict → parental educational anxiety → children's academic anxiety → learning engagement” is established. In the father–child pathway, only the chained mediation is significant, whereas in the mother–child pathway, both the independent mediation of children's academic anxiety and the chained mediation are significant. Conclusion The findings indicate that parental work–family conflict is a risk factor affecting children's learning engagement under the Double Reduction policy, with intergenerational anxiety transmission serving as the key mechanism. It is recommended that policy implementation should focus on the family emotional ecosystem by alleviating emotional burdens through school–family collaborative support and workplace family‐friendly policies, while providing targeted family education guidance based on parental gender differences.