This study examined the extent to which cumulative family risks at age 1 influenced children's school readiness (i.e., academic and socio-emotional skills) during the transition to school directly or indirectly through maternal parenting stress and responsive parenting behaviors at age 3, using 2 longitudinal data sets, one from the U.S. (the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study) and the other from Korea (the Panel Study on Korean Children). Overall, cumulative family risks (e.g., low family income, mothers’ poor mental health) exerted enduring direct effects on children's school readiness, especially their academic skills in both countries. Furthermore, both countries showed similar negative cascading processes by which cumulative family risks negatively influenced both domains of school readiness skills through increased maternal parenting stress. Similarly, cumulative family risks decreased maternal responsive parenting, which then led to poor academic skills in both countries. Some variations between the 2 countries were also observed; the double mediating path through maternal parenting stress and responsive parenting behaviors to academic skills were significant for Korean children only. Moreover, the direct effects of cumulative family risks and maternal responsive parenting on children's socio-emotional skills were significant for U.S. children only, suggesting culture specific processes. The finding that maternal parenting stress was a common mediator suggests that targeting mothers’ parenting stress could be an effective way to promote children's school readiness in both countries, especially for those with multiple family risks.

本研究通过 3 岁时的母亲养育压力和反应性养育行为直接或间接影响 1 岁时累积的家庭风险对儿童入学准备（即学业和社会情感技能）的影响程度，使用 2数据集，一个来自美国（脆弱家庭和儿童福利研究），另一个来自韩国（韩国儿童小组研究）。总体而言，累积的家庭风险（例如，低家庭收入、母亲的心理健康状况不佳）对两国儿童的入学准备情况，尤其是他们的学业技能产生了持久的直接影响。此外，这两个国家都表现出类似的负面连锁过程，累积的家庭风险通过增加母亲养育子女的压力对入学准备技能的两个领域产生负面影响。同样，累积的家庭风险降低了母亲对父母的反应，从而导致两国的学术技能差。还观察到这两个国家之间的一些差异；通过母亲养育压力和对学业技能的反应性养育行为的双重中介路径仅对韩国儿童具有重要意义。此外，累积的家庭风险和母亲对儿童社会情感技能的回应性养育对儿童的社会情感技能的直接影响仅对美国儿童显着，这表明特定于文化的过程。