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Parental stress, psychosocial problems and responsiveness in help-seeking parents with small (2-45 months old)
1Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden.
Insights
Mothers seeking help for young children experience higher parental stress than fathers and comparison mothers. Parental stress links to unresponsiveness, child problems, and psychosocial factors, suggesting family-focused interventions.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Family Studies
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Parental stress is a significant factor in child development and family well-being.
- Understanding the dynamics of parental stress in clinical settings is crucial for effective interventions.
- Previous research has highlighted the impact of child characteristics and parental psychosocial factors on stress levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine experienced parental stress in mothers and fathers seeking help for young children.
- To investigate the relationship between parental stress and child problem load, psychosocial issues, and parental responsiveness.
- To compare maternal stress levels in a clinical sample with a population-based sample.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 75 mothers and 65 fathers attending a Specialist Child Health Centre.
- Utilized a revised Swedish version of the American Parenting Stress Index (Parent Domain) to measure parental stress.
- Compared clinical maternal stress levels with a population sample of 1500 mothers with similar-aged children.
Main Results:
- Mothers in the clinical sample reported higher parental stress than fathers and mothers in the general population.
- Higher parental stress was associated with clinical assessments of parental unresponsiveness to the child.
- Child problem load and parents' psychosocial situation significantly correlated with maternal stress levels.
Conclusions:
- Intervention programs should adopt a whole-family approach, recognizing fathers as valuable resources in child-rearing.
- The study validated the discriminant and construct validity of the parental stress instrument used.
- Addressing parental stress and psychosocial factors is essential for supporting families with young children.
Abstract:
Experienced parental stress in 75 mothers and 65 fathers seeking help for their young child (M = 14.5 months; SD = 9.4 months) in a Specialist Child Health Centre was examined and related to child problem load, psychosocial problems and parental problems in responding to the child's signals and demands. Maternal stress level was compared with a population-based sample of 1500 mothers with children of similar ages. The measure of parental stress was a revised Swedish version of the American Parenting Stress Index (Parent Domain). Mothers in the clinical sample indicated higher levels of parental stress compared to fathers in the same families and to mothers in the comparison sample. A clear association was found between higher stress and a global clinical assessment of parental unresponsiveness to the child. Child problem load was associated with mothers' overall stress level. A clinical estimate of the parents' psychosocial situation was also associated with mothers' and fathers' stress level, and gave a large unique contribution to the variability in mothers' stress scores. It was concluded that focus in intervention programs should be on the whole family, and that the father should be seen as a resource that might well be more involved in the caretaking of the child. The study also clearly demonstrated the discriminant and construct validity of the parental stress instrument.