Browsing by Author "Silakoski, Saara"

Objectives: Depression and parenting stress can have a dramatic influence on parenting. They are also associated with various negative emotional states that can affect influence parent's assessment of their child. For example, maternal depression is linked with more negative evaluation of an infant's temperament. However, for parenting stress, previous research on the topic has been limited so far. The aim of this study is to investigate whether symptoms of depression and parenting stress are associated with more negative assessment of infant temperament at six months of age. Potential gender differences in assessment of temperament are also examined. Additionally, study examines how different domains of parenting stress impact the assessment of temperament. Methods: The study utilized data from the DyslexiaBaby project investigating the language development of children at risk for dyslexia. A total of 168 parent dyads were selected for the sample. The study used data on infant's temperament (IBQ-R-VSF), maternal depression (EPDS), and parenting stress of both parents (PSI-SF) at the age of 6 months. The association between depression and parenting stress with temperament assessment were examined using canonical correlation analysis. Results: Higher parenting stress, especially in mothers, was associated with more negative assessment of temperament. Maternal depression was not associated with a more negative assessment of temperament. Negative affect and effortful control affected the assessment of the temperament the most. Higher parenting stress in mothers was associated with lower assessments of an infant's surgency and effortful control, and higher assessments of negative affect. The infant's gender did not influence the assessment of early temperament. However, depression and parenting stress affected the assessment of temperament slightly differently on boys and girls. Parenting stress related to child's difficulty had the most significant impact on the assessment of temperament out of all the different domains of parenting stress. Conclusions: This study suggests that parenting stress can lead to a more negative assessment of a child's temperament. Previously, also depression has been linked to a more negative assessment of temperament. Because high parenting stress can affect the way that parents interpret their child's behavior, the effects of parenting stress need to be considered in future research and clinical work. Further research is needed to examine the simultaneous effects of parenting stress and depression on temperament in more clinical populations, in both mothers and fathers. More comprehensive assessment of temperament should also be considered in future research. In clinical settings, the identification of parenting stress holds significant importance not only for facilitating child development but also for promoting parental well-being. Challenges of families should be addressed early on, with a particular focus on providing preventive support to individuals at a higher risk of experiencing parenting difficulties during the transition to parenthood.