{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T06:13:32Z","timestamp":1772000012227,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771459200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/05380\/2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/05380\/2025"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Work\u2013family conflict (WFC) is a common stressor for working parents and has been associated with poorer child adjustment. However, the mechanisms linking WFC to young children\u2019s emotional and behavioral difficulties remain insufficiently understood. This study examined whether parental mental health mediates the association between WFC and children\u2019s emotional and behavioral difficulties in early childhood. Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in Portugal with 313 parents of children aged 18\u201372 months. Parents completed validated self-report measures of WFC, parental stress, depressive symptoms, parental self-efficacy, and children\u2019s emotional and behavioral difficulties. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were performed, testing children\u2019s age (toddlers vs. preschool-aged) as a moderator. Results: Higher WFC was associated with greater emotional and behavioral difficulties in children (parents reported). This association was fully mediated by parental stress and depressive symptoms, whereas parental self-efficacy did not show a significant mediating effect. The indirect pathways were consistent across children\u2019s age groups. Conclusions: The findings indicate that WFC may affect young children\u2019s adjustment, primarily through its impact on parental psychological distress. Supporting parental mental health and reducing WFC may be key targets for early prevention and intervention.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13020289","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T08:50:03Z","timestamp":1771577403000},"page":"289","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Work\u2013Family Conflict, Parental Mental Health, and Children\u2019s Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Vit\u00f3ria","family":"Dias","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"HEI-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Labs, Lus\u00f3fona University, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Albuquerque","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HEI-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Labs, Lus\u00f3fona University, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Beato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HEI-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Labs, Lus\u00f3fona University, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7326-7115","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephanie","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HEI-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Labs, Lus\u00f3fona University, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"324","DOI":"10.1177\/0022146520942897","article-title":"Control and the health effects of work\u2013family conflict: A longitudinal test of generalized versus specific stress buffering","volume":"61","author":"Badawy","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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