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Maternal Stress and Child Development: The Moderating Role of Interactive Shared Reading
Chrystian R Kroeff1, Juliana R Bernardi2,3, Clécio H Da Silva3
1Graduate Program in Psychology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90035-003, Brazil.
Summary
Maternal stress impacts child behavior, but positive interactions like shared reading can help. Affectionate shared reading moderates stress effects on externalizing behaviors in children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Behavior Studies
- Maternal Mental Health
Background:
- Maternal stress is linked to adverse child development outcomes.
- Positive mother-child interactions may buffer these negative effects.
- Shared reading is a key interactive behavior with potential protective benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the predictive relationship between maternal stress and child developmental milestones and behavioral issues.
- To investigate the moderating role of maternal interactive style during shared reading.
- To understand how shared reading influences the impact of maternal stress on child behavior.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study involving 91 mother-child dyads.
- Video-recorded free-play shared reading sessions analyzed for interaction style.
- Maternal questionnaires assessed child development and behavioral problems.
- Regression models with moderation analysis were employed.
Main Results:
- Maternal stress significantly predicted both internalizing and externalizing behavioral symptoms in children.
- Affectionate maternal interactions during shared reading moderated the association between maternal stress and externalizing difficulties.
- Child developmental milestones were also assessed, though not the primary focus of the moderation analysis.
Conclusions:
- Maternal stress is a significant predictor of child behavioral problems.
- Positive and affectionate mother-child interactions, particularly during shared reading, can mitigate the negative impact of maternal stress.
- Promoting engaging shared reading practices may support healthy child behavioral development despite maternal stress.
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