The Curvilinear Relationship between Maternal-Parenting Stress and Adolescent Internalizing-Problems: Family Socioeconomic-Status and Adolescent Gender’s Moderating Roles

Background: The growing parenting stress among Chinese mothers in recent years raises concerns about its impact on adolescent internalizing problems. The purpose of this study was to examine the curvilinear relationship between maternal parenting stress and internalizing problems in adolescents, and further explore the moderating effects of family socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescent gender. Methods: Data were collected from 405 mothers and adolescents (203 boys, Meanage = 12.23) across five cities (Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shenzhen, and Shandong) in China, who completed self-report measures of maternal parenting stress and internalizing problems. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 27.0. Results: Multiple regression analyses indicated that the association between maternal parenting stress2 and adolescents’ internalizing problems was moderated by the interaction between gender and SES (b = −0.03, p < 0.01). Specifically, a significant U-shaped relationship was observed among high-SES boys (b = 0.12, t = 3.89, p < 0.001), with internalizing problems peaking at both low and high levels of maternal parenting stress, whereas the moderating effect of SES was not significant among girls. Conclusion: The study highlights that moderate maternal parenting stress is associated with lower internalizing problems among adolescents, particularly among high-SES boys, indicating that interventions should consider the optimal balance of parental stress and account for family socioeconomic and adolescent gender differences.