Introduction: Although childcare support typically emphasises children's needs, less attention has been devoted to the lifelong developmental support of parents. A stable sense of identity is widely recognised as essential for positive adaptation to childcare. Gender role attitudes are also associated with adaptation, yet their role in the relationship between identity and parenting emotions remains unclear. Furthermore, access to childcare resources differs depending on whether parents rely on home-based care or daycare centres, potentially shaping their experiences.
Purpose: This study investigated the mediating effect of gender role attitudes on the association between identity and parenting emotions and examined whether this relationship varied according to daycare center usage.
Method: Participants were 300 mothers with children aged 0-2 years (150 providing home-based childcare, 150 using daycare centres). Data on parenting emotions (parenting stress, parental satisfaction), identity (synthesis, confusion), and gender role attitudes were collected through a web-based survey.
Results: Identity confusion was significantly lower among mothers providing home-based childcare than among daycare centre users. Structural equation modelling indicated that gender role attitudes mediated the association between identity synthesis and parental satisfaction, with the model demonstrating good fit. This mediating effect was significant only for mothers providing home-based childcare.
Conclusions: Gender role attitudes play a pivotal role in linking parental identity to parenting satisfaction, particularly among mothers providing home-based childcare. The findings underscore the importance of providing adaptive, lifelong developmental support that incorporates identity formation and gender role attitudes as integral components of childcare services.