Browsing by Subject "vanhemmuuskompetenssi"

Objectives. Anxiety causes significant suffering in different life domains, and its prevalence rates are high already in childhood and adolescence. Often symptoms develop into a disorder which is why identifying factors associated with anxiety is important. Anxiety disorders run in families but only few studies have examined the association between maternal and child anxiety on a symptom level. It’s possible that this association is mediated by parenting competence but, as far as is known, this has never been studied. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of maternal anxiety with child anxiety and fears both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. It was also examined whether this association is mediated by parenting competence. Methods. The sample of this study was part of the Finnish Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) cohort. The sample consisted of 992 mothers who evaluated their own anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory) first when children were 2–5 years old and again when they were 7–11 years old. In the latter follow-up mothers also evaluated their parenting competence (Parenting Sense of Competence) as well as children’s anxiety (Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale for Parents) and fears (The Short Form of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children – Revised). The association of maternal anxiety with child anxiety and fears was examined with linear regression analysis. The mediating effect of parenting competence was examined with mediation analysis. Results and conclusions. Child anxiety and fears were associated with both current and previous maternal anxiety. Children of more anxious mothers showed more anxiety and fear-related symptoms and the association with mother’s former symptoms was as strong as with mother’s current symptoms. The associations of maternal anxiety with children’s later anxiety and fears were partially mediated by parenting competence. These results support previous findings that even low maternal anxiety is associated with child development and elaborates them by showing that it is associated specifically with child anxiety and fear-related symptoms. The current findings also extend existing knowledge about this association by showing that it is partially mediated by parenting competence. These findings can be utilized in prevention and treatment of childhood anxiety.

The aim of the study: In research literature depressive symptoms in mothers have been associated with lower parental sense of competence. The developmental mechanisms responsible for this relation are poorly understood and there is a need for longitudinal study especially. The study of this master’s thesis explores the association of both postnatal and later depressive symptoms with parental sense of competence when the child is 1–5 years. It also explores whether demographic factors have an impact to the relation and does later depressive symptomology in mothers mediate the relation between postnatal depressive symptomology and later parental competence. Method: Data is part of the Finnish cohort of The Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) research. The sample includes 2255 mothers who gave birth between years 2006-2010. Mothers evaluated their depressive symptoms 2 weeks / 6 months after birth (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ) and at the follow-up when the child was between 1–5 years old (Beck´s Depression Inventory). Mothers also evaluated their parental sense of competence (Parenting Sense of Competence Scale) at the follow-up. Data was analysed using linear regression and mediation analysis. Results and Conclusion: Both postnatal and later depressive symptoms were associated to lower parental sense of competence when the child was 1–5 years and demographic background did not have any impact to the relations. A significant mediation model was found where later depressive symptomology in mothers partly mediated the relation between postnatal depressive symptomology and later parental competence. Therefore effective screening and early treatment of postnatal depressive symptoms are important. Evaluating parental competence could potentially be a valuable part of screening and treatment of depressive symptomology in mothers.

Objective. Parenting sense of competence (PSOC) is a key factor in parenting and for the development and well-being of a child. Preterm birth is one of the risk factors for early parenting, which can challenge early development of PSOC, and can increase the risk for parents’ depressive symptoms. The results about associations between preterm birth and PSOC are controversial. Research has also focused only on the first year after preterm birth and the dimensions of PSOC have been studied narrowly. Additionally, the factors which can affect the relationship between preterm birth and PSOC, are largely unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate the associations between preterm birth and PSOC, and its subdimensions parenting self-efficacy and satisfaction, when the child was between 1–6 years old. Additionally, it was explored whether mothers’ symptoms of depression moderate or mediate these associations. Methods. The data in this study is part of the Finnish Prediction and prevention of preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction (PREDO) study. The sample (N=2420) includes 101 mothers whose child was born preterm (< 37 weeks of gestation) and 2319 mothers of children born full-term (37 – 41+6 weeks of gestation). Mothers evaluated their parenting sense of competence (Parenting Sense of Competence) and symptoms of depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II) when the child was between 1–6 years old. The associations, including steps of mediation analysis, were examined with linear and logistic regression models. Results and conclusions. The results of this study show that preterm birth is associated with lower PSOC and its subdimension of parenting self-efficacy, but not with satisfaction, when the child was between 1–6 years old. Mothers’ symptoms of depression did not moderate or mediate these associations. The results indicate that preterm birth can be one of the risk factors for PSOC and especially for parenting self-efficacy, and also regardless of mothers’ depression symptoms. The results add to previous knowledge about how preterm birth can affect parenting after child’s first year of life. Thus, after preterm birth, supporting PSOC as part of other parenting is recommendable long into childhood.

Parenting sense of competence means the parents' self-assessed ability in the parenting role and how they feel about their ability to positively influence the development of their children. Higher sense of parenting competency has been found to be more abundant in the context of interaction with the child, as well as increased sensitivity to meet the child's needs. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of both fathers’ and mothers’ parenting sense of competence and its relation to socio-emotional skills of toddlers. There were three research problems: 1) What kind of perception the parents of toddlers have of their parenthood? 2) What kind of socio-emotional skills do toddlers have? 3) How do parents' perceptions of their parenting sense of competence appear in the child's socio-emotional skills? Bronfenbrenner ecological systems theory as well as the parenting process model of Belsky act as a theoretical frame of reference for the study. This quantitative research data consisted of University of Helsinki Children's regulation of stress and learning (Lasso) -research project questionnaires that were collected during the years 2011–2016. In addition to family background data, the parenting sense of competence for fathers and mothers (N = 168) were analyzed on the basis of their self-perceived efficacy and satisfaction. The socioemotional skills of toddlers (N = 121) as assessed by early educators were analyzed aswell. The children were at the time the research 10 to 48 months of age. The data was analyzed by using correlation analysis, t-test, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test and analysis of variance. Both the fathers’ and mothers’ parenting sense of competence turned into a strong. Parents’ views of their self-efficacy were similar but the mothers' satisfaction with parenting was driven at a higher level than fathers’. Children's socio-emotional skills were evaluated mostly pretty good. Their social self-confidence was at a higher level than their skills in emotion regulation. The connection was most significant with parenting self-efficacy and children’s emotion regulation. There was no statistically significant relationship between the family background information and parenting sense of competence or children's socio-emotional skills.