Modeling Parenting Stress Trajectories Among Low-Income Young Mothers Across the Child's Second and Third Years: Factors Accounting for Stability and Change

This study investigated parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers and the factors that are associated with change and stability of parenting stress as children aged from 14 to 36 months old. With a sample of 580 young mothers who applied to the Early Head Start Program, growth mix...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family psychology 2007-12, Vol.21 (4), p.584-594
Main Authors: Chang, Yiting, Fine, Mark A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Mothers
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Child, Preschool
Couple and family
Development Programs
Early Intervention
Early Intervention (Education)
Families & family life
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Infant
Intervention
Low income groups
Lower Income Level
Male
Maternal stress
Mixture Modeling
Mother-Child Relations
Mothers
Mothers - psychology
Parent Child Relations
Parental Stress
Parenting
Parenting - psychology
Parents & parenting
Personal resources
Pregnancy
Pregnancy in Adolescence
Project Head Start
Psychological aspects
Psychology, Adolescent
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Self Efficacy
Social Class
Social psychology
Stress
Stress, Psychological
United States
Young mothers
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Summary:This study investigated parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers and the factors that are associated with change and stability of parenting stress as children aged from 14 to 36 months old. With a sample of 580 young mothers who applied to the Early Head Start Program, growth mixture modeling identified 3 trajectory classes of parenting stress: a chronically high group (7% of the sample), an increasing group (10% of the sample), and a decreasing group (83% of the sample). Maternal personal resources distinguished between the increasing and decreasing classes, whereas maternal personal resources, child characteristics, and contextual influences explained differences between the chronically high and decreasing trajectory classes. Findings suggest that for interventions to be effective, programs need to assess maternal, child, and contextual factors to better address the particular unique needs of young mothers.
ISSN:0893-3200
1939-1293
DOI:10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.584