Parenting Profiles in Chinese Preschool Families: Parental Emotional Intelligence and Children’s Social Competence

Parental emotional intelligence (EI) has been associated with children’s socio-emotional development, yet less is known about how parental EI is associated with naturally occurring configurations of parenting practices. This cross-sectional study investigated two complementary statistical indirect associations connecting parental EI to preschoolers’ social competence using a sample of 13,398 Chinese families: a variable-centered pathway via positive and negative parenting practices, and a person-centered pathway via distinct parenting profiles. Exploratory latent profile analysis yielded four sample-specific parenting configurations: high-positive/low-negative (27.49%), near-average (55.19%), low-positive/elevated-negative (9.16%), and mixed slightly positive/high-negative (8.16%). Parental EI exhibited a positive concurrent association with children’s overall social competence. Positive and negative parenting statistically accounted for part of this bivariate association at the variable level, while parenting profile membership provided complementary person-centered information about differences in child social competence. Family climate was incorporated as an auxiliary contextual correlate and was not framed as a core predictor, mediator, or moderator within the focal model. Given the cross-sectional single-wave design and caregiver-reported data for all key constructs, all observed patterns should only be interpreted as correlational associations, rather than empirical support for causal mediation.