The mediating role of parental stress in the effect of work-family conflict on parent-child relationships

This study was conducted to examine the relationships between work-family conflict, parenting stress, and parent-child relationships, and to determine the mediating role of parenting stress. The study group consisted of 542 parents selected from different provinces of Turkey using simple random sampling. During the data collection process, participants were administered the Work-Family Conflict Scale, the Parenting Stress Scale, and the Parent-Child Relationship Scale. The obtained data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and the PROCESS Macro Model 4 mediation analysis developed by Hayes (2022) via the SPSS software package. According to the results of the descriptive analysis, parents sometimes experience work-family conflict (x̄=2.95), evaluate parent-child relationships as highly positive (x̄=3.97), and perceive their stress levels as low (x̄=1.99). Difference analyses revealed that gender has no significant effect on work-family conflict levels; however, the number of children and educational status variables create significant differences. Parents with three or more children had significantly higher levels of work-family conflict compared to those with fewer children. Additionally, associate degree graduates had higher perceptions of work-family conflict than bachelor's and master's degree graduates. No significant differences were found based on age, occupation, or weekly working hours. Correlation analysis results showed a moderate negative correlation between work-family conflict and parent-child relationship (r=-0.47), a positive moderate correlation between work-family conflict and parenting stress (r=0.60), and a negative moderate correlation between parenting stress and parent-child relationship (r=-0.70). Mediation analysis revealed that parenting stress plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between work-family conflict and parent-child relationship. The fact that the bootstrap confidence intervals do not include zero values confirms that this effect is statistically significant. In conclusion, it has been found that work-family conflict negatively affects parent-child relationships through parental stress. The findings emphasise the importance of flexible working practices, social support mechanisms and stress management programmes in enabling parents to maintain a balance between their work and family roles.