The study was aimed at exploring the association between parenting distress, maternal perception of infant temperament and level of infant development when a preterm birth occurs. At 3 months of corrected age, 78 preterm infants and their mothers were compared with 73 term infants, using: Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF); Italian Questionnaires of Temperament (QUIT; 1-12 months); Griffiths Mental Development Scales (GMDS; 0-2 years). Results showed that preterm infants’ mothers showed higher level of distress and perceived their infants as more difficult. Moreover, in GMDS preterm infants reported lower scores in Hearing-Language, Performance and General Quotients compared to full term ones. Significant predictors of higher maternal distress were preterm birth, lower infant Locomotor and Personal-Social development and perception of lower Positive Emotionality, higher Negative Emotionality. Preterm birth has a deeply stressful impact that can be exacerbated by the perception of the disparity between the demands of neonatal care and resources available.
Prematurity: parental stress, temperament and child development
MONTI, FIORELLA;NERI, ERICA;TROMBINI, ELENA;AGOSTINI, FRANCESCA
2013
Abstract
The study was aimed at exploring the association between parenting distress, maternal perception of infant temperament and level of infant development when a preterm birth occurs. At 3 months of corrected age, 78 preterm infants and their mothers were compared with 73 term infants, using: Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF); Italian Questionnaires of Temperament (QUIT; 1-12 months); Griffiths Mental Development Scales (GMDS; 0-2 years). Results showed that preterm infants’ mothers showed higher level of distress and perceived their infants as more difficult. Moreover, in GMDS preterm infants reported lower scores in Hearing-Language, Performance and General Quotients compared to full term ones. Significant predictors of higher maternal distress were preterm birth, lower infant Locomotor and Personal-Social development and perception of lower Positive Emotionality, higher Negative Emotionality. Preterm birth has a deeply stressful impact that can be exacerbated by the perception of the disparity between the demands of neonatal care and resources available.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
