Relationship between health-related quality of life and environmental parenting among Korean parents of children and adolescents: the mediating effect of environmental health behavior in a cross-sectional study

Purpose: Environmental parenting refers to parental practices that aim to minimize children’s exposure to environmental hazards. This cross-sectional study examined the relationships among health-related quality of life (HRQoL), environmental parenting, and environmental health behavior among parents of children and adolescents. Methods: This correlational study was conducted between September and October 2024 and targeted parents with children aged 0 to 18 years. A total of 212 parents from three cities in Korea were recruited using convenience sampling and completed face-to-face questionnaires assessing HRQoL, environmental parenting, and environmental health behaviors. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated, and mediation analysis was conducted using multiple regression with the PROCESS macro, applying 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals based on 5,000 resamples. Results: The total effect of HRQoL on environmental parenting was significant (B=–1.92, p=.032). HRQoL was also significantly associated with environmental health behavior (B=–1.59, p=.028), and environmental health behavior was significantly associated with environmental parenting (B=0.91, p<.001). However, the direct effect of HRQoL on environmental parenting was not significant (B=–0.45, p=.446). Environmental health behavior fully mediated the relationship between HRQoL and environmental parenting (B=–1.46; 95% confidence interval, –2.79 to –0.14). Conclusion: These findings highlight a pathway linking HRQoL to environmental parenting through environmental health behavior among Korean parents. Accordingly, interventions that promote parental health behaviors may strengthen environmental parenting practices, particularly in contexts characterized by higher environmental health behavior and HRQoL.