Impact on maternal parenting stress of receipt of genetic information regarding risk of diabetes in newborn infants.

Our objective was to investigate whether notification of high-risk status for type 1 diabetes in newborn infants results in an increased maternal-parenting stress level when compared with notification of low-risk status for type 1 diabetes. Maternal parenting stress level was assessed at 5-7 weeks postpartum (baseline) and was reassessed 4-5 months after parents were informed of their newborn infants' genetic screening results (follow-up). Parenting stress level was measured using the total stress score (TSS) of the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form. The outcome variable, change in TSS, was calculated by subtracting the baseline TSS from the follow-up TSS. Demographic variables such as maternal race, maternal age, maternal education level, maternal marital status, child's birth order, and total family income were assessed through a structured phone interview at the time of baseline assessment. The risk factor of interest was the child's human leukocyte antigen (HLA) status for type 1 diabetes, i.e., whether child was at a high or moderate (combined into "high") genetic risk or at a low genetic risk for type 1 diabetes. A sample of 88 mothers (23 with a high-risk child and 65 with a low-risk child) was evaluated. Baseline median TSSs were 65 and 74 for mothers of low-risk infants and mothers of high-risk infants, respectively. Both groups' median TSS decreased between baseline and follow-up. No significant differences were found between change in TSS and maternal age, race, education level, marital status, total family income, or child's birth order. Although the median decrease in TSS was smaller in mothers with a high-risk child when compared with mothers of a low-risk child, this difference was not statistically significant. We did not find an association between newborn's HLA status and change in maternal TSS. The results of this study suggest that notification of high-risk status for type 1 diabetes in newborn infants may not result in an increased level of parenting stress among mothers.     

Socioeconomic risk moderates the association between caregiver cortisol levels and infant cortisol reactivity to emotion induction at 24 months

Relations between maternal baseline cortisol and infant cortisol reactivity to an emotion induction procedure at child ages 7, 15, and 24 months were analyzed using data from the Family Life Project (N = 1,292). The emotion induction consisted of a series of standardized and validated tasks, including an arm restraint, toy removal, and mask presentation, intended to elicit responses of fear and frustration. Results revealed that at 7 and 15 months, maternal baseline cortisol was negatively related to child cortisol reactivity, such that children of mothers with lower cortisol exhibited steeper cortisol increases in response to the emotion induction. At 24 months, the association between mother and infant cortisol was moderated by socioeconomic risk, such that maternal baseline cortisol was associated with child cortisol reactivity only in dyads characterized by low socioeconomic risk. Furthermore, at 24 months, children of mothers with low baseline cortisol and low socioeconomic risk exhibited decreasing cortisol responses, whereas children of mothers with low baseline cortisol but high risk exhibited flat cortisol responses. Children in dyads characterized by high baseline maternal cortisol also exhibited flat cortisol responses regardless of socioeconomic risk. The role of caregiver physiology in the regulation of the child's stress response in the context of adversity is discussed.     

A comparative study of parental stress among mothers and fathers of deaf school-age children

This study examined parental stress among mothers and fathers of deaf school-age children (n = 42). Maternal and paternal stress did not significantly differ as measured by the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress-Short Form's (QRS-SF, Friedrich, Greenberg, & Crnic, 1982, 1983) four scales and total score. Correlational findings showed that paternal stress increased as family occupational status and father's educational attainment increased, whereas maternal stress was not significantly related to these variables. Limited correlational findings suggested a relationship between earlier parental use of sign language and present levels of parental stress. Also, maternal stress increases were associated with older aged children. For both mothers and fathers, increased stress was associated with teacher-reported immaturity. Unlike maternal stress, increased paternal stress was correlated with teacher-reported withdrawn behavior, less developed lipreading skills, and lower peer ratings of social acceptance. The study's findings are discussed in the frameworks of differing parental roles, parent and child communication, and the association of a child's socioemotional school behavior and parental stress.     

Perceptions of Child Attachment and Maternal Gratification in Mothers of Children With Autism and Down Syndrome

Administered questionnaires to assess maternal perception of child attachment and maternal gratification to 17 mothers of children with autism and 21 mothers of children with Down syndrome. As predicted, there was significantly lower perceived attachment and significantly lower gratification in the autistic than the Down syndrome sample. For both groups there was a significant correlation between perceived attachment and gratification. Open-ended interviews with 10 mothers from each group provided more details. These results highlight the autistic child's lack of interpersonal responsiveness as a source of parental stress.     

The role of autonomy and pubertal status in understanding age differences in maternal involvement in diabetes responsibility across adolescence

OBJECTIVE: To examine how autonomy and pubertal status explain age decreases in maternal involvement in type 1 diabetes management across adolescence, how they relate to metabolic control, and the reasons that guide declines in maternal involvement. METHODS: One hundred twenty-seven children ages 10-15 years with type 1 diabetes and their mothers participated. Data included maternal and child report of diabetes management, child report of autonomy level, maternal report of pubertal status, maternal reports of reasons for transfer of diabetes responsibility, and glycosylated hemoglobin (Hba(1c)) values. RESULTS: Autonomy and pubertal status partially mediated age effects on reports of maternal involvement. Mothers' reasons for transferring responsibility included responding to the child's competence, promoting competence and maturity in their child, and minimizing hassles and conflict. The transfer of diabetes responsibility from mother to child without sufficient autonomy and when pubertal status was low was related to higher Hba(1c) values. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of chronological age for changes in maternal involvement suggests the need to examine mothers' and adolescents' developmental expectations for diabetes management. The reasons for transferring responsibility from mother to child suggest many avenues for intervention.     

Determinants of parenting stress in home apnea monitoring

Studied mothers of 30 infants who suffered an apneic episode and were subsequently placed on home apnea monitors, using measures of parenting stress, family resources and support, family coping activities, health locus of control, and maternal coping style involving preferences for information under threat. Comparison groups included mothers of 30 infants with mild congenital heart lesions and 30 mothers of normal healthy infants. Home monitoring was associated with increased levels of parenting stress; monitored infants were perceived as more demanding, and their mothers reported less attachment to the child. However, the magnitude of the differences between mothers of monitored and unmonitored infants was relatively small, and parenting stress outcome was more closely related to preexisting levels of family resources than to the child's health status. No significant relationship was found between stress outcome and family coping or maternal coping style.     

The Parents' Solution Book: Your Child From Five to Twelve (Book)

Measured the frequency of socioeconomically disadvantaged preschool children's aggressive, assertive, and submissive behaviors in play interaction with their mothers. Boys were significantly more assertive but not more aggressive or submissive than girls. Sociofamilial predictors including maternal depression, maternal anger, parenting stress, family life stress, and maternal perceptions of children's aggressive behavior were examined. Sex of the child interacted with (a) maternal depression to predict aggressive and assertive behavior and (b) maternal anger to predict submissive behavior. In all cases where child's sex exerted a significant moderating influence, boys' behavior was more vulnerable to differences in levels of maternal depression and anger, with lower rates of boys' behavior associated with higher levels of maternal distress.     

幼儿母亲育儿压力的特点及其与婚姻质量的关系

目的：考察幼儿母亲育儿压力的特点及其与婚姻质量间的关系，为改善婚姻质量，提高养育成效提供依据。方法：采用育儿压力问卷和婚姻质量问卷，对在北京市4所普通幼儿园中随机抽取的535名幼儿的母亲进行调查并做出统计分析。结果：2岁儿童的母亲由于儿童适应问题所引起的压力感明显高于5岁儿童的母亲：不同教育水平的母亲育儿压力存在显著差异：婚姻质量对母亲育儿压力的不同侧面影响不同，对母亲侧面影响更明显。结论：孩子年龄不同、受教育水平不同的母亲育儿压力存在显著差异：不同婚姻质量组母亲育儿压力存在显著差异。     

Four-factor model of recidivism in male juvenile offenders

Assessing the protective elements of social relationships for sixty 7- to 12-year-old children and their mothers residing in homeless shelters and 61 children and their mothers in low-income housing allowed us to test an ecological model of the impact of social relationships, income, stress, and maternal mental health on child adjustment for children in these two types of distressed families. Social relationships included the quality of the child's relationships with parents, teachers, other relatives, and friends. The model showed that for the homeless group, a lack of social support and maternal depression were significantly associated with adjustment difficulties in the child, whereas for the housed low-income group, environmental stress was associated with behavioral adjustment problems in the child. Perceptions of self-worth were associated with the presense of supportive relationships for children in both groups.     

Disease-associated autoantibodies during pregnancy and at birth in families affected by type 1 diabetes.

We studied the pattern of type 1 diabetes-associated autoantibodies during pregnancy and the transplacental transfer of these autoantibodies to the fetal circulation and searched for possible signs of prenatal induction of beta-cell autoimmunity in newborn infants. The population comprised 208 mothers and their newborn infants. Seventy-four of the mothers (36%) had type 1 diabetes and 134 (64%) of the infants had an affected father or sibling. Blood samples were obtained from the mother at the end of the first trimester and at delivery, and from the cord blood of the newborn infant. Close to 40% of the mothers with type 1 diabetes had antibodies to islet cells (ICA), 55% to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA) and 54% to the IA-2 protein (IA-2A) in early pregnancy, whereas the corresponding frequencies in the nonaffected mothers were 5.2%, 5.2% and 3.0%. No significant changes could be seen in autoantibody levels during pregnancy, and there was a close correlation between the two maternal samples. One third of the infants of mothers with type 1 diabetes tested positive for ICA, 50% for GADA and 51% for IA-2A. Six percent of the infants of nondiabetic mothers had ICA, 2.2% GADA and none had IA-2A. None of the infants of the antibody negative mothers had antibodies in their cord blood. These observations indicate that the immunomodulatory effect of pregnancy on signs of beta-cell autoimmunity is weak, but if diabetes-associated autoantibodies are present in the mother, most of them are transferred to the fetal circulation. Our data do not provide any support for fetal induction of beta-cell autoimmunity.     

Association between maternal diabetes and the respiratory-distress syndrome in the newborn.

Perinatal data on 805 infants of diabetic mothers and 10,152 infants of nondiabetic mothers were examined for a relation between maternal diabetes and respiratory-distress syndrome of the newborn. The syndrome occurred in 23.4 per cent of the diabetic vs. 1.3 per cent of the nondiabetic group. The risk of the syndrome in an infant of a diabetic mother was 23.7 times greater than that for an infant of a nondiabetic mother (P less than 0.00001). Further analysis to control for features associated with diabetes but also in themselves risk factors, such as gestational age and route of delivery, showed that respiratory-distress syndrome in infants of diabetic mothers was 5.6 times as likely to develop as in infants of nondiabetic mothers (P less than 0.00001). Thus, maternal diabetes mellitus per se predisposes to newborn respiratory-distress syndrome.     

Der p I concentrations in mattress surface and floor dust collected from infants' bedrooms

Background Allergen exposure in early childhood is thought to be important for sensitization and subsequent development of asthma. Not much is known, however, about exposure of young children to allergens in the home. Objectives This study was designed to document dust mite allergen exposure in young children, and to determine wheither infants from atopic mothers (=‘high-risk’ infants) are exposed to lower concentrations of house dust mite alkrgen than infants from non-atopic parents (=‘low-risk’ infants). Methods Dust samples were taken in the homes of 104 infants (48 ‘high-risk’ and 56 ‘low-risk’ infants, selected by questionnaire) aged 3–15 months, from floors in different rooms and from the child's mattress surface. Results The majority of the infants were found to be exposed to Der p I concentrations of more than 2000 ng/g in dust collected from the surface of their mattresses. Lower Der p I concentrations were found in mattress surface dust from the beds of infants from atopic mothers than of infants from non-atopic parents. Also, lower Der p I concentrations were found in floor dust from the homes of infants from atopic mothers, Infant beds equipped with new mattresses, new blankets and top plastic sheeting had significantly lower Der p I concentrations than beds equipped with used mattresses and blankets, without top plastic sheeting. Conclusions Young children in the Netherlands are exposed to significant concentrations of Der p I in mattress surface dust. Allergic parents appear to provide their children with environments somewhat less rich in mite allergen than non-allergic parents.     

Relation of Adolescent Mothers' History of Antisocial Behavior to Child Conduct Problems and Social Competence

We examined the extent to which maternal antisocial behavior (ASB) is directly related to child conduct problems and social competence and assessed the potential mediating role of negative parenting. The sample included 93 adolescent mothers and their children (44 boys, 49 girls). Mothers retrospectively reported about their ASB since the child's birth, through Grade 2. Negative parenting was coded during a parent–child interaction task (PCIT) at Grade 2. Teachers assessed child outcomes at Grade 3. Maternal ASB during the child's life was directly related to parenting and both child outcomes. In the overall sample, negative parenting partially mediated the relation between maternal ASB and child conduct problems. However, the pattern of relations differed by sex. For boys, maternal ASB was directly related to conduct problems, independent of parenting. For girls, maternal ASB was strongly related to parenting but not conduct problems. Negative parenting did not mediate the relation between maternal ASB and child social competence. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.     

Parental history of atopic disease and concentration of cord blood IgE

Background A family history of atopy, and cord blood immunoglobulin E concentration, have been shown to be predictors of atopic disease in children. Several studies have suggested that parental atopy may be related to newborn immunoglobulin E. Objective The purpose of our analysis was to evaluate whether parental history of allergic disease was associated with cord blood immunoglobulin E concentration. Methods The study subjects were from a defined population of 777 newborns delivered between 1987 and 1989. The mothers of these children completed a questionnaire during pregnancy concerning themselves and the child's father, including parental history of physician diagnosis of allergic diseases (allergies, hay fever and asthma). Total immunoglobulin E levels were quantitated in cord blood samples with an enzyme-hnked immunoassay. Results Median cord blood immunoglobulin E concentration was higher among infants whose mothers had a history of atopic disease, particularly for those with a history of asthma (P<0.022) and allergen immunotherapy (P<0.016) vs infants whose mothers had no history of any atopic disease. Comparing all babies with a maternal history of asthma, to babies where neither parent had a history of any atopic disease, the median cord blood immunoglobulin E was significantly higher (0.36IU/mL vs 0.21 IU/mL; P<0.009). This association was found only among female infants (0.49IU/mL vs 0.20 IU/mL; P<0.001). Conclusion Maternal, but not paternal, history of atopic disease was associated with an elevated immunoglobulin E among newborns. For maternal asthma, this association was only evident in infant girls.     

The relationship between parents’ cognitions,bedtime behaviours and sleep-related practices with their child's sleep

Certain parental cognitions about child sleep and bedtime behaviours used with their child have been linked to poorer child sleep. However, previous research has focused on mothers and explored only a limited range of sleep-related cognitions and practices. The present study investigated whether parental cognitions and sleep-related practices (both in connection with their own sleep and their child's sleep), alongside the bedtime behaviours used with their child were associated with and/or were predictive of their child's sleep. Mothers and fathers from 44 families (with a child aged 12–24 months) separately completed questionnaires reporting (i) their cognitions (about their own sleep and their child's sleep), (ii) sleep-related practices (used in connection with their own and their child's sleep) and (iii) bedtime behaviours used with their child. Child sleep was assessed through parental report and actigraphy. Both parents’ cognitions about their own sleep predicted cognitions about their child's sleep. Mothers’ own sleep-related practices predicted the types of practices they used with their child. Different patterns of maternal and paternal variables influenced parental perceptions of their child having a sleep problem. The present findings highlight the importance of including mothers and fathers in child sleep research. Parents’ dysfunctional cognitions (their own sleep) and broader sleep-related practices (their own and child sleep) should be considered when exploring influences on child sleep. Results have possible implications for targets of interventions for child sleep problems and also potential implications for theoretical models of child sleep.     

Revisiting the Accuracy Hypothesis in Families of Young Children With Conduct Problems

Revisited the accuracy hypothesis in an examination of the relation between maternal depressive symptomatology and child conduct problems. All data were gathered as part of the pretreatment assessment in an outcome study of families with clinic-referred children with conduct problems (age 3 to 6). The mothers varied in their depressive symptomatology, from not at all symptomatic to severely symptomatic. Correlations indicated that with increasing depressive symptomatology, mothers (N = 97) displayed a higher rate of physical negative behaviors towards their child and reported more child conduct problems. Regression analyses revealed that at the lowest levels of maternal depressive symptomatology there was a discrepancy between mothers' reports of child behavior problems and child deviant behaviors observed during mother-child interaction. In contrast, at higher levels of depression, mothers' reports of child behavior were consistent with laboratory observations of their child's behavior. These findings provide evidence to support the accuracy hypothesis in reference to mothers who display a high degree of depressive symptomatology, but the results also call into question the validity of maternal report in families with children with conduct problems.     

Mediators of depressive symptoms in children with type 1 diabetes and their mothers

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationships among maternal and child depressive symptoms and child and family psychosocial factors. METHOD: Secondary analysis of baseline data for a coping skills intervention for school-age children (ages 8-12) with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their mothers. Children and mothers completed measures of depressive symptoms, coping, quality of life, and family functioning. RESULTS: There was a strong relationship between maternal and child depressive symptoms (r = .44, p < .001). Maternal depressive symptoms were negatively related to child quality of life, perceptions of coping, and family functioning. Impact of diabetes on quality of life, finding coping with diabetes upsetting, and family warmth mediated the relationship between maternal and child depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal depression may negatively affect child adjustment through its influence on quality of life, coping, and family functioning. Implications for interventions to improve psychosocial adjustment in children with T1D are discussed.     

The depressed mother as a source of stimulation for her infant

Compared a group of 25 postpartum depressed mothers and 25 control mothers with respect to the level and quality of stimulation they provided for their newborn infants during a feeding session. Observer measures of maternal behavior included visual, auditory and kinesthetic stimulation and levels of unconditional positive regard. Results did not indicate any differences between the two groups in levels of stimulation. However, depressed mothers provided significantly lower levels of unconditional positive regard and exhibited less continuity of rocking behavior with their infants. A post hoc analysis that compared the extremes of the two S groups (N = 22) revealed significant differences in gazing behavior, with more depressed mothers gazing less at their infant's faces. Depressed mothers exhibited significantly lower levels of marital adjustment and had more extensive postpartum concerns. Contrary to expectations, no relationship was demonstrated between level of marital adjustment and maternal behavior toward the infant.     

Chronic and Episodic Stress in Children of Depressed Mothers

The goal of this study was to examine chronic and episodic stress in children of mothers with and without a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) during the children's lives. Participants were 255 mothers selected according to their history of MDD (present vs. absent during child's life) and their children (age 8–14; 53% girls, 81% Caucasian). Mothers' and children's histories of MDD were assessed using diagnostic interviews, and their depressive symptoms were assessed via self-report measures. Children's levels of chronic and episodic stress were assessed using a semistructured contextual threat interview. Children of mothers with a history of recurrent MDD, compared to single MDD or no depression, experienced more chronic stress within several domains including peers, mother–child relations, and other family member relations as well as greater episodic dependent interpersonal stress. Each of these group differences was maintained after excluding children with a history of MDD themselves and controlling for their current depressive symptoms. However, only the group difference in chronic peer stress was maintained when controlling for mothers' current depression. The results suggest that children exposed to recurrent maternal MDD experience higher levels of both chronic and episodic stress, at least some of which they contribute to themselves (dependent interpersonal stress) and which is at least partially independent of the effects of children's depression. In addition, much of this stress is associated primarily with current depression in the mother, though it appears that chronic peer stress may remain elevated even after the remission of maternal depression.