Browsing by Author "Naskali, Anni"

Aim: Regulatory problems in infancy manifest as difficulties in crying, sleeping and feeding. They have been linked to later behavioral and emotional problems, and also to parental stress, fatigue and negative affect. However, less is known about the relationship between these early problems and subsequent parenting stress in particular. The aim of this study is to examine whether infant regulatory problems during the first year of life are associated with maternal parenting stress during toddlerhood. Methods: The final sample included 649 mothers and their healthy full-term infants who were recruited at birth. When the child was 12 months old, infant crying was assessed with questions based on the Wessel criteria, sleeping was assessed with the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ) and feeding was assessed with the Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH-Feeding Scale) by the mother and/or the father. When the child was two years old, the mother evaluated her parenting stress with the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form (PSI-SF). Linear regression analysis was used to examine the associations between infant regulatory problems and maternal parenting stress. Results: An association between regulatory problems in infancy and parenting stress one year later was found. The findings suggest that infant regulatory problems are most strongly associated with mothers perceiving their child as demanding and maternal distress. Multiple regulatory problems were associated with more parenting stress. Conclusions: These findings provide information about how regulatory problems and parenting stress are associated in the early years of life. The results emphasize the importance of early support.