Article2012

Parental stress in early parenthood among mothers and fathers in S weden

Margareta Widarsson · Gabriella Engström · Andreas Rosenblad · Birgitta Kerstis · Birgitta Edlund · Pranee C. Lundberg

73 citations0/0 files storedScandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences

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Family Dynamics and Relationships Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, psychology, and well-being

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Parental stress affects parenting behaviour and the quality of dyadic parent-child interactions. Mothers generally show higher parental stress than fathers. AIMS: Our aims were to assess the perceived level of parental stress in early parenthood and examine the differences between mothers and fathers within couples in relation to their levels of education, parental experience, existence of a parental role model and sense of coherence. METHODS: In total, 307 mothers and 301 fathers of 18-month-old children answered the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ); and 318 mothers and 311 fathers answered the Sense of Coherence (SOC-3) scale; 283 couples answered both the SPSQ and SOC-3. RESULTS: Mothers perceived higher levels of stress than fathers in the sub-areas incompetence (p < 0.001), role restriction (p < 0.001), spouse relationship problems (p = 0.004) and health problems (p = 0.027), and in total (p = 0.001). In contrast, fathers perceived higher stress than mothers in the sub-area social isolation (p < 0.001). When the data were stratified with respect to education, parental experience, existence of a parental role model and sense of coherence, significant results were observed in some of these sub-areas. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers and fathers experience stress in different areas during their early parenthood. Healthcare professionals should be aware of the differences in stress that exist between mothers and fathers, so that parents can be adequately prepared for parenthood and avoid parental stress.

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References

2004Gender differences in stress and coping styles 1998Parenting stress and child adjustment: Some old hypotheses and new questions.2005Cumulative parenting stress across the preschool period: relations to maternal parenting and child behaviour at age 5 2007Masculinity and perceived normative health behaviors as predictors of men's health behaviors 2000A Structural Modeling Approach to the Understanding of Parenting Stress 1996Parenting stress among dual-earner mothers and fathers: Are there gender differences?2010Who cares? assessing generosity and gender equality in parental leave policy designs in 21 countries 2009Family stress and parental responses to children’s negative emotions: Tests of the spillover, crossover, and compensatory hypotheses.

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