Parental Bonding After Preterm Birth: Child and Parent Perspectives in the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults

Objective: To examine whether parenting behavior recalled by very low birth weight (VLBW) adults or their parents differs from that of term-born control subjects or their parents.

Study Design: A total of 164 VLBW and 172 control adults (mean age 22.5 years, SD 2.2) assessed retrospectively the parenting behavior of their parents by the Parental Bonding Instrument, which includes dimensions of care, protectiveness, and authoritarianism. A subgroup of 190 mothers and 154 fathers assessed their own parenting behavior by the Parent Behavior Inventory, which includes dimensions of supportive and hostile parenting.

Results: The VLBW women assessed their mothers as more protective and authoritarian than the control women. The VLBW and control men did not differ from each other. Both mothers and fathers of the VLBW adults assessed their own parenting as more supportive than those of the control subjects.

Conclusions: Preterm birth at VLBW may promote a more protective, as well as more supportive, parenting style.