Night Sleep and Parental Bedtime Practices in Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Late Talkers.

ObjectTo examine the relationship between sensory characteristics and emotional/behavioral problems in preschool children, and to explore the moderating role of maternal parenting stress.MethodFrom April to December 2024, a total of 321 healthy children and their primary caregivers from six kindergartens in Nantong City were recruited as study participants. The Short Sensory Profile, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form were used to assess children’s sensory characteristics, emotional and behavioral problems, and maternal parenting stress.ResultThe average total score of the SSP among the 321 preschool children was 57.09 ± 16.59, with an abnormality rate of 5.6%. Among the domains of the SDQ, peer relationship problems had the highest rate of abnormalities (31.2%), followed by hyperactivity/inattention (7.79%), emotional symptoms (5.30%), total difficulties (4.36%), conduct problems (3.74%), and prosocial behavior (3.43%). The total SSP score was correlated with all dimensions of the SDQ (P < 0.01), and maternal parenting stress was correlated with all dimensions of the SDQ (P < 0.05). Sensory features demonstrated a significant negative predictive effect on emotional and behavioral problems (β = −0.36, P < 0.01), while parenting stress showed a significant positive predictive effect on emotional and behavioral problems (β = 0.27, P < 0.01). Additionally, the interaction term between sensory features and parenting stress significantly and negatively predicted emotional and behavioral problems (β = −0.15, P < 0.01). When maternal parenting stress was high (+1 SD), children’s sensory abnormalities had a strong positive influence on emotional and behavioral problems (t = 9.07, P < 0.001). Conversely, when maternal parenting stress was low (−1 SD), the predictive significance of children’s sensory abnormalities on emotional and behavioral problems was weaker (t = 3.17, P < 0.01).ConclusionThere was a significant association between sensory characteristics and emotional/behavioral problems in preschool children. Maternal parenting stress moderated this relationship—higher levels of parenting stress amplified the impact of children’s sensory characteristics on emotional and behavioral issues. Future efforts should place greater emphasis on the development of sensory characteristics in preschool children and address family-related parenting stress, in order to effectively reduce the occurrence of emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood.

Home food environment, including home food availability and parental food preparation practices, plays a significant role in child diet patterns. Recent evidence suggests that parental psychological stress is related to parental food preparation practices; however, there is limited information about the relationship between parental psychological stress and home food availability. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationships between parental stress, home food availability, child diet patterns, and body mass index (BMI) in families with young children. A secondary data analysis from a mixed-methods design study. The parent study was conducted in both local and online communities using a web-based survey. Participants were 256 parents of children aged 2 to 5 years (53.4% white; 41.5% of overweight or obese children). Parents completed well-validated self-report questionnaires. We used latent structural equation modeling using Bayesian analysis. There was a negative relationship between parents' general stress and healthy food availability at home (β* = -.20, P < .001 for fruits; β* = -.23, P < .001 for vegetables; and β* = -.24, P < .001 for healthy beverage) and a positive relationship between parenting stress and healthy snack and healthy beverage availability (β = .13, P = .03; β = .14, P = .02, respectively). There was no relationship between parental stress and unhealthy food availability at home while unhealthy food availability was significantly associated with child's unhealthy eating pattern (β* = .86, P < .01 for unhealthy snack; β* = .51, P < .01 for unhealthy beverage). There was no moderating effect of children's health insurance on the relationships between parental stress and home food availability. Furthermore, child diet patterns were not associated with child BMI. Parental psychological stress is a potentially important intervention target point for improving home food environment and child diet patterns.

This study evaluated the effect on infant sleep of a novel intervention (Play2Sleep) that combined infant sleep information with self-modeled video feedback on parent-infant interactions. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design consisting of a randomized controlled trial with 63 mother-father-infant triads randomized to Play2Sleep or comparison home visit interventions was used. We used repeated measures analysis of covariance to detect changes in infant night wakings, nocturnal wakefulness, and sleep durations and Wilcoxon signed rank test to evaluate changes in perception of infant sleep problems. Family interviews (n = 20) were used to explain the quantitative findings and analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Play2Sleep was effective in reducing maternal-reported infant wakefulness, F(1,55) = 5.33, P = .03, partial η2 = .09, and the number of paternal-reported naps, F(1,58) = 4.90, P = .03, partial η2 = .08. Parents in the Play2Sleep group reported significant improvements in problematic infant sleep that were not observed in the comparison group; however, Play2Sleep was not effective in reducing the number of parent-reported night wakings. Information overwhelm, learning infant cues, and working together with a subtheme of father involvement were key qualitative themes developed to explain the quantitative results. Unplanned exploratory analyses revealed a significant improvement in maternal depression symptoms in the Play2Sleep group. This study suggests Play2Sleep could improve infant sleep by promoting parental awareness of infant cues and father involvement and improving maternal depression. Additional research is needed to determine the optimal number and timing of sessions. Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; Name: Play2Sleep: Using Play to Improve Sleep; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02742155; Identifier: NCT02742155. Keys EM, Benzies KM, Kirk VG, Duffett-Leger L. Effect of Play2Sleep on mother-reported and father-reported infant sleep: a sequential explanatory mixed-methods study of a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(2):439-452.

The goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between parenting stress, parental self-efficacy, and parent-child communication. 492 parents participated in the study. 200 of the participants are fathers and 292 are mothers. For data collection, the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF) Perceived Parental Self-Efficacy Scale, Parent-Child Communication Scale, and Demographic Information Form were used. The differences among parenting stress, parental self-efficacy, and parent-child communication across demographic variables were analyzed with SPSS 17.0 program. At the same time, the effects of demographic variables on parenting stress and parent-adolescence communication were examined. To the findings, it is found that mothers and low-income level parents had higher parenting stress and no significant difference for other demographic variables was observed. A medium-level negative correlation was found between parenting stress and parent self-efficacy and parent-child communication variable. Additionally, self-efficacy and communication predicted 15.5% of parenting stress. According to the standardized regression coefficient, and when the relative significance level of predictive variables on parenting stress was analyzed, it can be seen that the most predictive variable was self-efficacy (β=-.255) and followed by communication (β=-.174).

The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring parenting stress in families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, no research to date has examined the psychometric properties of the PSI-SF in a sample of parents of young children with ASD. In this regard, item response theory (IRT) can be used to estimate how much information or discrimination each item of a scale offers across the entire range of the latent variable being measured, by creating individual item information curves or profiles. The purpose of this study was to use IRT to examine the discriminability of PSI-SF items in a sample of parents of young children with ASD who experience varying levels of parental stress. The study involved the parents of 141 children with autism spectrum disorders (91.4% mothers; mean age 36.2 years) who completed the PSI-SF following diagnosis. Item characteristic curves were constructed for each of the PSI-SF items and examined with regard to item functioning. Results indicated that, for the most part, changes in parental distress severity were reflected in changes on item scores. However, several items on the subscales measuring parent-child dysfunctional interactions and child behavior difficulty functioned poorly to discriminate parents across a range of total stress severity. The parent-child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child subscales of the PSI-SF scale should be used with caution with parents of young children with ASD. More research is required to examine PSI-SF content validity, at least among parents of children with ASD and perhaps parents of children with other disabilities as well.

Introduction Studies suggest that family intervention programs should consider different sources of parenting stress (PS). Knowing that child sleep has an impact on PS, this study aimed to examine if a child sleep intervention can affect PS in vulnerable families. Methods In a first study, parent and child sleep habits along with PS were assessed using Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and homemade questions assessing child sleep. Measures were administered to 138 community mothers (children 3-79 months). Multiple linear regression analyses examined mothers and child sleep associations to PS, controlled by family income. Following results of this first study, 11 vulnerable mothers (children 39-68 months) participated in a child sleep intervention specifically developed for vulnerable families. Measures administered were the same as for study 1, but in this study, the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire was used to assess the child sleep. Wilcoxon’s t-test compared pre and post-intervention measures. Results In the first study, sleep onset latency (SOL; β= -.25; p= .003), waketime (β= -.28; p= .003) and sleep aids (β= -.19; p= .048) explained 23.6% of PS variance. When child sleep variables were added to the model, only bedtime resistance was significant (β= -.23; p= .023) and increased the explained variance to 30.6%. Following the child sleep intervention, no significant changes in parent sleep were observed. However, results show improvement of child bedtime resistance (Mpre=10.73; Mpost=8.36; p= .027) and PS (Mpre=3.50; Mpost=3.82; p= .05). Conclusion Our results suggest that higher PS is explained by greater struggles in parents sleep (higher SOL, later waketime and higher use of sleep aids) as well as bedtime resistance behaviors in children. Furthermore, PS can be reduced by an intervention improving child bedtime resistance, even if parent sleep is not improved. Support

Background. In a previous study, we demonstrated that the accumulation of parenting stress during prolonged school closures and restrictions on daily activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan indicates the need for mental health intervention for parents at higher risk of parenting stress. However, few studies have focused on parenting stress in other Asian countries, although they have experienced higher numbers of infections. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether parenting stress among caregivers increased across Asia due to school closures and restrictions on activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine whether there were any country-specific, cross-country, or cross-regional risk factors for increased parenting stress. Methods. We conducted an online survey immediately after the number of new cases in India significantly increased (September to November 2020). We measured parenting stress, anxiety, and fear associated with the COVID-19 crisis, as evaluated by the Parenting Stress Index, Short-Form (PSI-SF) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), across three Asian countries—India (n = 142), Malaysia (n = 69), and Japan (n = 182)—in addition to the US (n = 203). We also investigated whether respondents had adverse childhood experiences (ACE) as a risk factor for parenting stress. Results. For all countries, we found significant increases in participants’ current parenting stress levels, compared to what they recalled regarding their lives before COVID-19-related restrictions and school closures were enacted. Textual analysis qualitatively identified common terms related to parenting stress across all countries. We also found a statistical model that indicated ACE in parents was a critical risk factor for higher parenting stress via increasing anxiety and fear related to the pandemic. Conclusions. These results indicate the need to improve the mental health of caregivers who are at risk for higher levels of parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Asian countries as well as Western countries. These results indicate that there is a need to improve the mental health of caregivers who are at risk for higher levels of parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic globally.

The aim of this research was to study the relationship between parenting stress and coping strategies of mothers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The sample consisted of 143 mothers with a child who had been diagnosed with ADHD. The mothers completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CAE) and the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF). The results showed that mothers experienced high levels of stress and they tended to use coping strategies focused on problem solving. Meaningful differences were found between parenting stress and coping strategies according to sociodemographic characteristics. Negative correlations between parenting stress and coping strategies showed that coping strategies focused on problem solving were associated with lower levels of stress. Besides, positive correlations between parenting stress and coping strategies showed that higher levels of emotional coping strategies were associated with higher levels of parenting stress.

Background: According to the statistics from 2013 to 2017 at the national cancer institute, more than 30% of breast cancer patients are under the age of 54, and their children are mostly minors. Diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer have a substantial impact on the patients themselves and as caregivers, resulting in both depression and parenting stress. Although there are previous studies investigating the parenting stress in patients with cancer, the factors affecting the parenting stress and depression in young women with breast cancer still remain inconclusive. Herein, we aimed to determine the parenting stress and depression of women diagnosed with breast cancer, and to identify the risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among ​​700 patients with breast cancer who visited the breast surgery outpatient clinic in a tertiary hospital from June 2020 to April2021. The study subjects were between 20 and 45 years old at the time of cancer diagnosis. Two-hundred patients without children were included for comparison regarding depression. The center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) was used for evaluating depression in all subjects. Five-hundred patients with children also fill out the questionnaires including parenting stress index/short Form (PSI-SF), Child behavior checklist (CBCL), Junior temperament and character inventory (JTCI), and Children’s sleep habits questionnaire(CSHQ).Results: The risk of depression was significantly higher in patients having children (odds ratio [OR], 2.261; 95% confidential interval [CI],1.009-5.063; p=0.047) and who received gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH)treatment (OR 1.667; 95% CI, 1.142-2.433 p=0.008). Meanwhile, longer disease duration was associated with lower risk of depression (OR 0.852; 95% CI, 0.756-0.959 p=0.008). In regards to parenting stress, clinical factors related to breast cancer such as stage and type of treatment did not show significant association. However, children factors including the age (≥ 6 years old), specific behavioral patterns, temperature, and sleep habits reported significant impact on parenting stress. The significant correlation was noted between depression score and parenting stress score (β coefficient =0.557; p&amp;lt;0.0001).Conclusion: In patients with breast cancer, having children, shorter duration from the diagnosis, and treatment with GnRH was associated with higher risk of depression. Among the patients having children, the factors related to children had a significant impact on parenting stress, whereas no association was noted among clinical factors related to breast cancer. Citation Format: Yungil Shin, Harin Kim, Seonok Kim, Sae Byul Lee, Jisun Kim, Il Yong Chung, Beom Seok Ko, Jong Won Lee, Byung Ho Son, Sei Hyun Ahn, Hyo-won Kim, Hee Jeong Kim. Factors affecting the parentingstressand depressioninyoung women with breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-09-03.

Couple satisfaction and parenting stress in parents of children with ASD

Effects of the Mother-Child Education Program on Parenting Stress and Disciplinary Practices Among Refugee and Other Marginalized Communities in Lebanon: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Parenting stress can negatively impact mothers and the family unit. Previous research has identified spousal supportiveness as a critical resource in helping reduce maternal parenting stress, whereas other research demonstrates that parenting stress may reduce supportive behaviors over time. However, it is unclear whether the association between spousal supportiveness and maternal parenting stress is robust over an extended period of children's development, or whether economic hardship impacts change in both constructs. Using 4 waves of data from 612 mothers in the Fragile Family and Child Wellbeing study, we explored whether maternal parenting stress was associated with change in spousal supportiveness and whether spousal supportiveness simultaneously was associated with change in maternal parenting stress. We examined these bidirectional associations while accounting for economic hardship. We found parenting stress and perceptions of spousal supportiveness changed at varying rates throughout the 8 years of the study. We also found that when the focal child was 1 year old, perceptions of spousal supportiveness were associated with increases in mothers' parenting stress, whereas when the child was 3 and 5 years old, perceptions of spousal supportiveness were associated with a faster decrease in mothers' parenting stress. Maternal parenting stress was not associated with perceptions of spousal supportiveness over time. We also found that mothers with greater economic hardship showed a slower decline in perceptions of spousal supportiveness compared with the decline in perceptions of spousal supportiveness observed without economic hardship in the model. We conclude by providing both developmental and practical implications for helping mothers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Excessive screen media use among young children has become a growing public health concern. This study aimed to examine a sequential pathway in which parenting stress influences young children's problematic media use (PMU) by first increasing parental phubbing, which then exacerbates parent-child conflict. This study employed a multi-wave design. Data were collected via an online questionnaire survey from 925 parents of children aged 3-6 years in Guangdong Province, China. Participants completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP), the Parent-Child Conflict Scale (PCC), and the Children's Problematic Media Use Questionnaire (CEMUQ). The mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes's PROCESS macro (Model 6) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Parenting stress was significantly positively associated with children's PMU. This relationship was independently mediated by both parental phubbing and parent-child conflict. More importantly, a significant serial mediation path was confirmed: parenting stress increased parental phubbing, which in turn heightened parent-child conflict, ultimately leading to higher levels of PMU. This study confirms that parenting stress affects young children's PMU by increasing parental phubbing, which subsequently aggravates parent-child conflict. These findings suggest that effective intervention requires a dual focus on alleviating parenting stress and improving parent-child interaction quality.

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) have emerged as a globally recognized public health concern. Currently, discrete trial teaching (DTT) is an effective intervention approach for ASD rehabilitation in hospitals. However, family-based interventions often yield limited outcomes. This study aims to develop a hospital-family collaborative DTT program guided by King's goal attainment theory, to support parents in delivering continuous and effective intervention within home environments.MethodThis single-blind randomized controlled study included 84 children with ASD aged 1 to 6 years. Participants were stratified by gender and age and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 42) or the control group (n = 42) using a random number table. The experimental group received a hospital-family collaborative DTT program, consisting of one month of hospital intervention followed by three months of family-based intervention, while the control group received standard DTT rehabilitation. Outcomes were assessed using the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GESELL), Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), Family Assessment Device (FAD), along with DTT theoretical and skill evaluations.ResultsExcept that the PSI scores were unaffected by the intervention method, the GESELL, PSI, FAD, theoretical, and skill scores were significantly influenced by both intervention time (F = 37.70–896.12, all P < 0.001), intervention method (F = 37.70–896.12, all P < 0.001), and their interaction (F = 5.83–75.27, all P < 0.01). Partial correlation analysis revealed that improvements in parenting stress were initially linked to changes in “adaptive” items on the GESELL and FAD scales during the hospital intervention phase (Δ FAD. affective reaction: rpartial = 0.225, P = 0.043; Δ GESELL. adaptation behavior: rpartial = −0.290, P = 0.009; Δ parental knowledge: rpartial = −0.432, P < 0.001), followed by improvements in “behavioral” items during the family-based intervention phase (ΔFAD. problem-solving: rpartial = 0.433, P < 0.001; ΔGESELL. gross motor behavior: rpartial = −0.292, P = 0.010; ΔGESELL. fine motor behavior: rpartial = −0.309, P = 0.012; ΔGESELL. personal-social behavior: rpartial = −0.327, P = 0.001). For all participants, extremely high levels of parenting stress were independently associated with FAD disorders (particularly in problem-solving, affective responsiveness, and affective involvement), child factors (including male, language disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), caregiver factors (including male, lower education level, and unversed DTT skills), as well as conventional DTT programs and shorter intervention durations (all P < 0.05).DiscussionOur hospital-family collaborative DTT program significantly improved children's ASD symptoms, family function, and parenting stress, demonstrating the value of ongoing family-based DTT intervention. The improvements in children's symptoms and family function showed a time-dependent shift from adaptive to behavioral changes, which were linked to lower parental stress.

Introduction22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), also known as velo-cardiofacial syndrome or DiGeorge syndrome (DGS) is highly variable in phenotype, encompassing a wide range of physical and neuropsychiatric manifestations (ID, ADHD, ASD, anxiety, major depressive disorder,obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia). In this retrospective study, we aimed to assess the clinical significance of sleep disturbances and their relationship with functional impairment in a cohort of 52 children and adolescents with 22q11.2DS, as well as psychological distress in their parents. Standardized measures, including the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), were administered to parents.MethodsThe sample consisted of 26 males and 26 females, aged 5 to 18 years. Participants were referred to the Day Hospital follow up of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit in the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, Italy, between January 2023 and December 2023. The total cohort was divided into two main groups based on the presence of sleep problems: (1) Group 1, with sleep problems, and (2) Group 2, without sleep problems. Both groups demonstrated low mean IQ scores and low general adaptive functioning, as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) and the ABAS II General Adaptive Composite (GAC), respectively. Furthermore, Group 1 exhibited significantly lower functioning when assessed using the CGAS. Additionally, Group 1 reported higher levels of self-reported anxiety symptoms (MASC-2) compared to Group 2. While none of the results reached the clinical range, scores in Group 1 were generally higher, particularly on the “Performance Fears” subscale. A similar trend was observed in the “Negative Self-Esteem” subtest of the CDI 2 (self-report form). Although the average questionnaire scores did not fall within the clinical range, KSADS psychiatric diagnoses revealed the presence of various psychiatric disorders. Unexpectedly, these disorders were more prevalent in the group without sleep problems, except for anxiety disorders, which showed similar prevalence across both groups. Regarding parental stress, as measured by the PSI-SF, we did not observe a significant relationship between sleep disorders and parental stress, on the contrary to our expectations.Results and discussionOur study is one of the few to specifically investigate sleep problems in the pediatric population with 22q11.2DS and the first to use the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) to assess various aspects of sleep disorders in this group. Further studies are required to draw more consistent conclusions.