From Parental Conflict to Sleep Problems: How Cultural Scripts Shape Children’s Emotional Security and Subject ive Well-Being

In Chinese cultural contexts, family harmony is regarded as a foundational condition for individual development and well-being. Grounded in the cultural script of “family harmony fosters prosperity” (jia he wan shi xing), the present study examines the mechanisms linking parental conflict to children’s sleep quality, with particular attention to the mediating and sequential mediating roles of emotional insecurity and subjective well-being.A mixed-method design combining questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews was employed. The sample consisted of 900 third- to sixth-grade students recruited from a primary school in China. Quantitative data were analyzed using correlation analyses and structural equation modeling.The results indicated that: (1) parental conflict significantly predicted poorer sleep quality among children; (2) emotional insecurity and subjective well-being each independently mediated the association between parental conflict and sleep quality; and (3) emotional insecurity and subjective well-being jointly formed a significant sequential mediation pathway between parental conflict and sleep quality.Qualitative findings further revealed that children frequently interpreted parental conflict as a signal of family instability. This perception heightened sustained emotional vigilance and undermined their sense of well-being, which in turn interfered with nighttime relaxation and sleep regulation.By integrating cultural context with psychological mechanisms, this study advances understanding of how family relational risk affects children’s sleep and provides theoretical support for culturally responsive family-based interventions and sleep promotion strategies.