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Children's delayed development and behavior problems: impact on mothers' perceived physical health across early

Abbey Severance Eisenhower1, Bruce L Baker, Jan Blacher

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90091-1580, USA. aeisenho@ucla.edu

Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|November 7, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Mothers of children with developmental delays and behavior problems report poorer physical health. Early child behavior problems predict later maternal health, influenced by parenting stress and depression.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Maternal Health
  • Child Behavior

Background:

  • Mothers of children with developmental delays often experience psychological distress.
  • Limited research explores the link between child developmental delays and maternal physical well-being.
  • Child behavior problems associated with developmental delays may impact maternal health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between child developmental delay and behavior problems with maternal physical health.
  • To investigate the predictive relationship between child characteristics and maternal health over time.
  • To identify factors moderating and mediating the link between child behavior and maternal health.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 218 families with children aged 3, 4, and 5.
  • Assessed child developmental status and behavior problems at age 3.
  • Measured mothers' self-perceived physical health concurrently and longitudinally.

Main Results:

  • Mothers of children with developmental delays reported poorer physical health.
  • Child behavior problems, not developmental status alone, predicted maternal health.
  • Child behavior problems predicted later maternal health, independent of earlier maternal health.

Conclusions:

  • Child behavior problems are a significant predictor of maternal physical health.
  • Parenting stress and depressive symptoms mediate the child behavior-maternal health relationship.
  • Families with children exhibiting both developmental delays and high behavior problems require targeted early intervention.

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