Parenting Stress, Child Social Functioning, and Part C Early Intervention in Predominantly Low-Income Families of...

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Early Intervention Services
• Parenting Stress

Background:

• Examined relationships between child social functioning, parenting stress, and Part C Early Intervention (EI) enrollment.
• Included 227 diverse, low-income families with toddlers (15-27 months) identified at risk for developmental delay.
• 41.4% were enrolled in EI at data collection; 83.3% enrolled before age 3.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the interplay between child social skills, parental stress, and EI participation.
• Determine if EI enrollment influences the relationship between child social functioning and parenting stress.
• Identify factors associated with EI enrollment and elevated parenting stress.

Main Methods:

• Utilized generalized linear mixed models to analyze data from 227 families.
• Assessed child social functioning, parenting stress, and EI enrollment status.
• Conducted exploratory bivariate analyses to identify related factors.

Main Results:

• No direct link found between EI enrollment and parenting stress.
• Significant inverse association between child social functioning and parenting stress (β = -0.61, p = .005).
• EI enrollment moderated this association (p < .001), suggesting benefits for enrolled children.

Conclusions:

• Timely referral and access to EI may benefit families of children at risk for developmental delay, particularly in underserved communities.
• Higher parenting stress correlated with developmental concerns (M-CHAT-R/F scores) and worry.
• EI enrollment associated with parents not working outside the home, older parent/child age, and lower child social functioning.