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Parents' responses to stress in the neonatal intensive care unit

Morgan Busse1, Kayleigh Stromgren, Lauren Thorngate

  • 1maternal-infant unit at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Critical Care Nurse
|August 3, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Parental stress from infant hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is linked to anxiety, depression, and sleep issues. The Parental Stressor Scale (PSS:NICU) effectively measures these impacts.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) care
  • Parental mental health and well-being
  • Psychological impact of infant hospitalization

Background:

  • Infant hospitalization in the NICU causes significant parental stress.
  • This stress can lead to emotional and behavioral challenges for parents.
  • Validated tools like the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) can assess parental responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between parental stress and outcomes such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep disruption.
  • To evaluate the utility of the Parental Stressor Scale (PSS:NICU) in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Thirty parents of infants in the NICU participated.
  • Parents completed the PSS:NICU (assessing NICU Sights and Sounds, Infant Behavior and Appearance, Parental Role Alteration) and PROMIS short-form instruments for anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbance.

Main Results:

  • Parental stress, measured by the PSS total score, showed significant correlations with anxiety (r=0.61), depression (r=0.36), and sleep disturbance (r=0.60).
  • Alteration in Parenting Role scores correlated with all measured outcomes.
  • Infant Appearance scores correlated with anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance, but not fatigue.

Conclusions:

  • Parental stress in the NICU setting is significantly associated with increased anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep disruption.
  • The Parental Role Alteration subscale of the PSS:NICU is a strong predictor of these negative outcomes.

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