Stress in parents of children born very preterm is predicted by child externalising behaviour and parent coping at age 7years

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood 2015-06, Vol.100 (6), p.554-558
• Main Authors: Linden, Mark A, Cepeda, Ivan L, Synnes, Anne, Grunau, Ruth E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0003-9888
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2014-307390

ObjectiveTo examine factors which predict parenting stress in a longitudinal cohort of children born very preterm, and seen at age 7years.MethodsWe recruited 100 very preterm ( less than or equal to 32weeks gestational age) child-parent dyads and a control group of 50 term-born dyads born between 2001 and 2004 with follow-up at 7 years. Parents completed the Parenting Stress Index, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Child Behavior Check List, Beck Depression Inventory and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaires. Child IQ was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale-IV.ResultsAfter controlling for maternal education, parents of preterm children (95% CI 111.1 to 121.4) scored higher (p=0.027) on the Parenting Stress Index than term-born controls (95% CI 97.8 to 113.2). Regression analyses showed that child externalising behaviour, sex and parent escape/avoidance coping style, predicted higher parenting stress in the preterm group. Parents of preterm girls expressed higher levels of stress than those of boys.ConclusionsMaladaptive coping strategies contribute to greater stress in parents of very preterm children. Our findings suggest that these parents need support for many years after birth of a very preterm infant.