FEHD Research
Standing at the forefront of research into education and psychology, the Faculty of Education and Human Development (FEHD) is the leading provider of educational courses and research at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). We conduct high-quality research that addresses educational, social, and policy issues of global significance.
Article of the Month
Discover this month’s featured article, showcasing cutting-edge research and impactful ideas from our Faculty’s experts across disciplines.
October 2026
Supporting Parents, Sheltering Children:
A Longitudinal Study on Economic Pressure, Parents, and Children
Family economic pressure is often discussed in terms of income, expenses and material hardship. Yet for many families, the pressure is also emotional and relational. When parents worry about whether there is enough money for daily needs, the stress may shape how they feel, how they function, how they parent, and how their children learn and adjust. Understanding these processes is especially important during early childhood, when children rely heavily on parents for emotional security, routines, guidance and learning support.
Although family economic pressure has been widely studied, important gaps remain. Much existing evidence comes from Western families, adolescents or cross-sectional studies. Less is known about how economic pressure unfolds over time in Chinese families with young children, or how it moves through the family system from parents’ psychological well-being to parenting practices and children’s development.
To address these gaps, a series of longitudinal studies led by Dr Ian Chun Bun Lam, Associate Professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education at The Education University of Hong Kong, examined how family economic pressure may affect parents and young children. The studies focused on parents’ psychological well-being and functioning, mothers’ mindful parenting, and maternal warmth as a protective factor.
From Financial Stress to Parents’ Daily Functioning
How does economic pressure affect parents’ roles across spouses? In the most recent study, published in 2026, Dr Lam investigated how family economic pressure was associated with mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms and social functioning, which refers to a person’s ability to manage daily roles across work, family, social relationships and leisure.
The study involved the mothers and fathers of 191 kindergarten children in Hong Kong, China. Data were collected at three time points, each about six months apart. Both parents reported their family economic pressure, depressive symptoms and social functioning. This dyadic design allowed the researchers to study mothers and fathers as an interconnected family system, rather than as separate individuals.
The findings showed that family economic pressure was associated with increases in depressive symptoms among both mothers and fathers. These symptoms, in turn, were associated with decreases in each parent’s own social functioning. In other words, when parents experienced greater stress about money, they were more likely to report depressive symptoms later, which were linked to greater difficulty fulfilling everyday responsibilities.
The study also found a cross-spouse effect. Fathers’ depressive symptoms helped explain the association between family economic pressure and mothers’ social functioning. However, mothers’ depressive symptoms did not play the same mediating role for fathers’ social functioning. This suggests that fathers’ psychological well-being may have particular significance for how mothers manage their roles in the family and beyond.
Mindful Parenting as a Bridge to Child Adjustment
Family economic pressure may first increase parents’ psychological distress. How might this distress then influence parenting and children’s adjustment? To explore this pathway, another study, published in 2025, examined whether mindful parenting helped explain the association between family economic pressure and child adjustment.
Mindful parenting refers to parents’ ability to pay attention to their own and their children’s thoughts and emotions during parent–child interactions. It includes listening attentively, being aware of one’s own feelings, noticing how one’s mood affects parenting, and responding to children with greater awareness and self-regulation.
This study followed 207 mothers of kindergarten children in Hong Kong across three waves of data collection, again about six months apart. Mothers reported family economic pressure, mindful parenting and children’s adjustment, including school readiness, externalising behaviours and internalising behaviours. School readiness refers to children’s ability to stay focused and learn in school; externalising behaviours include outward problems such as arguing or difficulty sitting still; and internalising behaviours include emotional difficulties such as worry, sadness or tearfulness.
The results showed that family economic pressure was associated with decreases in children’s school readiness and increases in both externalising and internalising behaviours over time. The study also found that decreases in mothers’ mindful parenting partially mediated the associations between economic pressure and two child outcomes: lower school readiness and higher externalising behaviours.
This means that economic pressure may make it harder for mothers to remain attentive and emotionally aware during parenting. This reduction in mindful parenting may partly explain why children show more difficulty with learning readiness and behaviour. However, mindful parenting did not significantly mediate the association between economic pressure and children’s internalising behaviours, suggesting that other family processes may also be involved.
Maternal Warmth as a Buffer for Early Literacy
If economic pressure creates risks for families, supportive parenting may help reduce those risks. In early childhood, warm and responsive parent–child relationships may be especially important for children’s learning and literacy development. Building on this idea, a study published in 2023 examined whether maternal warmth could protect children’s early literacy development in the face of family economic pressure.
Maternal warmth includes behaviours such as praising children, showing affection, hugging, holding, kissing and showing sympathy when children are upset. The study followed 330 kindergarten children and their mothers in Hong Kong over two waves about 12 months apart. Children completed tests of Chinese word reading and writing, while mothers reported family economic pressure and maternal warmth.
The findings showed that family economic pressure was linked to declines in children’s Chinese word reading and writing skills, but only among children who experienced low maternal warmth. For children who experienced high maternal warmth, the negative associations between economic pressure and literacy skills were not significant.
This finding supports a risk and resilience perspective. Family economic pressure can be a risk factor for children’s development, but a warm parent–child relationship may help buffer that risk. Importantly, maternal warmth does not require expensive resources. Praising a child, expressing affection and showing empathy are low-cost behaviours that may carry meaningful developmental benefits.
Together with the mindful parenting study, this study shows that parenting is not simply a pathway through which stress affects children. It can also be a source of resilience. While economic pressure may create risks, warm and attentive parenting may help protect children’s learning and adjustment.
Supporting Families Before Pressure Becomes Harm
Together, these three studies describe how families may experience and respond to economic pressure over time. They show that family economic pressure may be linked to parents’ depressive symptoms and social functioning, to mindful parenting, and to children’s school readiness, behaviour and early literacy. The findings therefore provide a more complete picture of how financial stress may move through family systems.
The studies also show that the story is not only about risk. Maternal warmth and mindful parenting point to possible sources of resilience within families. Even when economic pressure is difficult to be removed quickly, supportive parent–child relationships may help children continue to develop positively.
The research has practical implications for educators, social workers, family service providers and policymakers. Support for families facing economic pressure should begin early, especially during the kindergarten years, before difficulties become more entrenched. Since young children’s school readiness, behaviour and literacy skills are connected to later development, early support may have long-term value.
Community-based programmes may help parents manage financial stress, strengthen emotional regulation, improve daily routines, and support couples in handling financial pressure together. At the same time, low-cost parenting support can be meaningful. Parent education, community workshops and self-administered activities may help parents maintain mindful parenting and express warmth even under stress.
Overall, Dr Lam’s research shows that family economic pressure is not only a matter of money. It is a family experience that touches parents’ mental health, everyday functioning, parenting and children’s development. While economic pressure may not disappear quickly, supporting parents and strengthening warm, mindful parent–child relationships can help families weather the storm.
This research, titled “Resilience in Families Amid Economic Downturns: A Synthesized Model,” is supported by the General Research Fund of the Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Reference no.: 18610021). To learn more about the study, please visit:
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Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Associations of Family Economic Pressure with Social Functioning: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study of Chinese Families: https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.70060
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Mindful Parenting Mediates the Association of Family Economic Pressure with Child Adjustment: A Longitudinal Study:https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001337
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Maternal Warmth Moderates the Longitudinal Associations of Family Economic Pressure with Early Reading and Writing Skills among Chinese Children: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102246
For enquiries about the research, please contact Dr Ian Lam by email at ianlam@eduhk.hk.
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