Parenting Very Low Birth Weight Children at School Age: Maternal Stress and Coping
Received 3 October 2006; received in revised form 23 January 2007; accepted 9 April 2007. published online 24 August 2007.
Refers to article:
Parenting Stress and Childhood Impairment
Neil Marlow
The Journal of Pediatrics
November 2007 (Vol. 151, Issue 5, Pages 448-449) Full Text |
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Determinants of Life Quality in School-Age Children with Cerebral Palsy
, 28 August 2007
Annette Majnemer, Michael Shevell, Peter Rosenbaum, Mary Law, Chantal Poulin
The Journal of Pediatrics
November 2007 (Vol. 151, Issue 5, Pages 470-475.e3) Abstract |
Full Text |
Full-Text PDF (140 KB)
Objective
To compare severity and determinants of stress and coping in mothers of 8-year-old very low birth weight (VLBW) and term children varying in medical and developmental risk.
Study design
Three groups of mothers/infants were prospectively compared in a longitudinal study from birth to 8 years (110 high-risk VLBW, 80 low-risk VLBW, and 112 term). Maternal psychological distress, coping, parenting/marital stress, child health, and family impact were measured in the children at age 8 years.
Results
Mothers of VLBW children differed from term mothers, reporting less consensus with partners, more concern for their children’s health, less parent–child conflict, and fewer years of education attained. Mothers of high-risk VLBW children experienced the greatest family and personal strains and used less denial and disengagement coping. The groups exhibited no differences in the sense of parenting competence, divorce rate, parenting/marital satisfaction, family cohesion, and psychological distress symptoms. Multiple birth, low socioeconomic status, and lower child IQ added to maternal stress.
Conclusions
VLBW birth has long-term negative and positive impacts on maternal/family outcomes related to the infant’s medical risk.
⁎Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
†Department of General Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
‡Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
Correspondence address: Lynn T. Singer, PhD, Case Western Reserve University, Triangle Building, 11400 Euclid Avenue, Suite 250-A, Cleveland, OH 44106.
Supported by grants from the Maternal and Child Health Program, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services (MCJ-390592, MC-00127, and MC-00334).
ABSTRACT