Parenting Stress, Maternal Perception, and Child Development in Families Experiencing Adversity
Date
2020-11-08
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Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the association between maternal parenting stress and child development in families living with low income, mental illness, addiction, and/or social isolation on intake to an inner-city two-generation preschool program. Our sample included 88 children (age 2.5-5 years) and their mothers entering the preceding inner-city two-generation preschool program. We administered the Parenting Stress Index – Short Form (PSI-SF) and the Battelle Developmental Inventory- Screening Test 2nd ed. (BDI-ST). Bivariate analysis demonstrated associations between PSI-SF sub-scale scores and BDI-ST personal-social and adaptive domains, and we performed two multivariable logistic regression models to investigate associations. Increased parenting stress related to maternal perception of difficult child was associated with delays in children’s development in adaptive and personal-social domains. When designing two-generation early interventions with whole-family approaches for families experiencing adversity, mindfulness of the effects of maternal stress and maternal perception of having a difficult child is essential. In families experiencing adversity, where mothers experience parenting stress due to perceptions of having a difficult child, additional support and resources for both mothers and children may mitigate the risk of children’s developmental delay. Consideration of intergenerational effects of adversity includes increasing societal contributions to environments decreasing parenting stress.
Description
Keywords
Child/family, Environmental and contextual factors in health and behavior change, Health promotion, Social environment, Social support, Stress, Role stress/Role ambiguity/Role conflict
Citation
Mughal, M. K., Ginn C. S., Syed, H., Donnelly, C., & Benzies, K. M. (2020). Parenting Stress, Maternal Perception, and Child Development in Families Experiencing Adversity (Unpublished manuscript). University of Calgary, Calgary AB.