Stability and Change in Longitudinal Associations between Child Behavior Problems and Maternal Stress in Families...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Maternal Health

Background:

• The Tromsø Intervention Study on Preterms (TISP) previously showed benefits of the Mother-Infant Transaction Program (MITP) for preterm infants and mothers.
• Longitudinal adaptation and the interplay between maternal stress and child behavior problems require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the longitudinal impact of the MITP on mother-child adaptation from ages two to nine years.
• To analyze associations between child behavioral problems and maternal parenting stress over time within the TISP cohort.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal analysis of data from 146 preterm-born children and their mothers randomized to MITP or a control group.
• Statistical modeling to assess interactions between parenting stress, group status (MITP vs. control), and time on child behavior problems.
• Examination of moderating effects of birth weight and maternal education on stress-behavior associations.

Main Results:

• No significant three-way interaction (stress*group*time) was found, indicating MITP did not alter the development of longitudinal stress-behavior associations.
• Significant stress by group interactions were observed for children's attentional problems, with MITP mothers reporting weaker associations.
• The effect of MITP on stress-behavior associations was moderated by birth weight and maternal education for parent-child difficult interaction stress.

Conclusions:

• The MITP did not significantly influence the longitudinal trajectory of mother-child adaptation concerning stress and behavior problems.
• MITP participation was associated with diminished links between maternal stress and child behavior, especially attentional issues, suggesting a potential benefit in specific contexts.
• Maternal education and child birth weight play a role in moderating the relationship between parenting stress and child behavior in the context of the MITP intervention.