Communication Anxiety and Bicultural Engagement in Relation to Parenting Efficacy Among Chinese Marriage Migrant Women in Korea: The Mediating Role of Parenting Stress

This study examined the relationships among communication anxiety, bicultural engagement, parenting stress, and parenting efficacy among Chinese marriage migrant women living in Korea, with particular attention to the mediating role of parenting stress. Using cross-sectional survey data, the study tested a structural model linking communication anxiety and acculturation to parenting efficacy through parenting stress. The results showed that higher communication anxiety was associated with higher parenting stress, whereas higher bicultural engagement was associated with lower parenting stress. Parenting stress, in turn, was negatively associated with parenting efficacy. The direct relationship between communication anxiety and parenting efficacy was not significant, while the indirect relationship through parenting stress was significant. Bicultural engagement showed a positive indirect relationship with parenting efficacy through lower parenting stress, although its direct relationship with parenting efficacy was in the opposite direction. These findings suggest that communication anxiety and bicultural engagement represent distinct aspects of migration-related experience and are differently associated with parenting. They also highlight parenting stress as an important mechanism linking migration-related experiences with mothers’ perceptions of parenting competence. The findings underscore the need for support programs that address communication-related anxiety, cultural adjustment, and parenting stress among Chinese marriage migrant women in Korea.