Structural validity of the Parenting Daily Hassles Intensity Scale

Examining the Contributions of Parents' Daily Hassles and Parenting Approaches to Children's Behavior Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The present study was designed to examine the direct and indirect contributions of parenting daily hassles and approaches to children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample for this study was 338 preschool children (53.6% girls, M_age = 56.33 months, SD = 15.14) and their parents in Turkey. Parents reported their daily hassles, parenting approaches, and children's behavior problems. Findings from the structural equation model showed that higher levels of parenting daily hassles predicted higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. In addition, we found an indirect effect of daily hassles on children's internalizing behaviors via positive parenting. Further, there was an indirect path from parenting daily hassles to children's externalizing behaviors through the negative parenting approach. Results are discussed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associations of parenting daily hassles with parents' mental health during the COVID-19 school closure

RATIONALE

Parenting is a demanding task associated with parents' mental health, which is likely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The present study investigated daily parenting hassles and their effects on parents' mental health during this period.

METHODS

A total of 7314 parents with children aged 3-14 years old completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and reported on their perceived daily parenting hassles, mental health, family support, and co-parenting during the COVID-19 school closure.

RESULTS

Most parents (73.4%) showed different degrees of daily hassles, and a relatively higher prevalence of depression (18.7%), anxiety (22.4%), and stress (12.1%) were found. Motherhood, parents' younger ages, lower education parents, job loss, and having younger children, boys, and multiple children were associated with elevated daily parenting hassles and mental health issues. Importantly, daily parenting hassles were uniquely associated with mental health problems after controlling for various sociodemographic characteristics, family support, and co-parenting. Furthermore, family support and co-parenting can attenuate daily parenting hassles, which, in turn, protect parents' mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the present study underscore the critical need to consider daily parenting hassles and their effects on the mental health of parents during the COVID-19 lockdown. The present study also outlines potential factors (family support and co-parenting) that attenuate parents' daily parenting hassles and protect their mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Frontal Alpha Asymmetry in Response to Stressor Moderates the Relation Between Parenting Hassles and Child Externalizing Problems

Inequitable urban environments are associated with toxic stress and altered neural social stress processing that threatens the development of self-regulation. Some children in these environments struggle with early onset externalizing problems that are associated with a variety of negative long-term outcomes. While previous research has linked parenting daily hassles to child externalizing problems, the role of frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) as a potential modifier of this relationship has scarcely been explored. The present study examined mother-child dyads, most of whom were living in low socioeconomic status households in an urban environment and self-identified as members of racial minority groups. Analyses focused on frustration task electroencephalography (EEG) data from 67 children (mean age = 59.0 months, SD = 2.6). Mothers reported the frequency of their daily parenting hassles and their child's externalizing problems. Frustration task FAA moderated the relationship between parenting daily hassles and child externalizing problems, but resting FAA did not. More specifically, children with left frontal asymmetry had more externalizing problems as their mothers perceived more hassles in their parenting role, but parenting hassles and externalizing problems were not associated among children with right frontal asymmetry. These findings lend support to the motivational direction hypothesis and capability model of FAA. More generally, this study reveals how individual differences in lateralization of cortical activity in response to a stressor may confer differential susceptibility to child behavioral problems with approach motivation (i.e., left frontal asymmetry) predicting externalizing problems under conditions of parental stress.

Parenting Stress Among Adolescent Mothers: An Integrative Literature Review

Adverse maternal and child outcomes are associated with parenting stress. Adolescent mothers may be particularly susceptible to parenting stress because of conflicting parenting and developmental demands. We performed an integrative literature review to identify risk and protective factors for parenting stress, measured by the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), among adolescent mothers. Guided by Belsky's Determinants of Parenting Model (1984) and using Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) five-stage review method, we searched CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE databases to identify 786 research articles. After quality appraisal, 26 articles were included. Risk and protective factors were categorized into themes within the context of Belsky's framework, including maternal attributes (e.g. maternal self-efficacy), child characteristics (e.g. child temperament), and contextual influences (e.g. perceived social support). The new conceptual model maps risks, protective factors, and nuanced areas for parenting stress and can guide researchers and clinicians in approaches to prevent and reduce parenting stress among adolescent mothers.