Parenting Stress in Mothers of Very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) and Full-term Infants: a Function of Infant Behavioral Characteristics and Child-rearing Attitudes

Objective: To examine the moderating effects of child-rearing attitudes on the relation between parenting stress and infant behavioral characteristics for mothers of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) and full-term infants.

Methods: Fifty-six 9-month-old infants (23 VLBW and 33 full-term) and their mothers were the participants. Mothers completed measures of parenting stress, child-rearing attitudes, infant temperament, and infant behavioral problems.

Results: The VLBW infants had a higher frequency of behavioral problems, and their mothers reported more child health concerns than the mothers of the full-term infants. Regression analyses showed that the relation between parenting stress and infant distress was moderated at medium and high levels of parental strictness for only the VLBW infants.

Conclusions: The amount of stress the mothers of the VLBW infants experienced was a result of the congruence between their infant's behavioral characteristics and their own child-rearing attitudes.