Understanding and supporting parenting

The issue of what affects the quality of early parenting is of continuing interest to academic and practising psychologists and to a wide range of other professional groups and is of major relevance to society. Its importance has been recognised by governments of all varieties as shown by both reports and interventions that have been tested and introduced, most commonly, although not always, by targeting particular groups of parents or parents to be, thought to be at greatest disadvantage (Barlow, Kirkpatrick, Wood, Ball, & Stewart-Brown, 2007; Barnes et al., 2011; Sanders, 1999). In the Triple-P, Sure Start programmes and the Family Nurse Partnership schemes a mixture of literature reviews about what works, case studies, pilot site evaluations and full-scale trial, population-based cohort and other studies have been used to develop and explore appropriate methodologies for supporting families, building confidence, enhancing parenting and reducing the stresses associated with being a parent under a variety of circumstances, including bringing up children with disabilities. Operationalising such interventions outside the research context has and continues to be a challenge from organisational, key skills and training and funding perspectives.

Studies of parents, children and families living in a diverse range of circumstances have continued to provide evidence that early experience matters. Such research studies have generally underpinned this kind of intervention with both a theoretical rationale and guidance about the nature and timing of the interventions that might contribute to improved family functioning and better outcomes for children. Historically with such interventions the focus was more on supporting intellectual development and cognitive performance (Ludwig & Phillips, 2008), with some scepticism in relation to this type of outcome in the short term and now greater recognition that there are longer-term societal and educational benefits, particularly in the area of literacy and involvement in crime. More recently, the emphasis in intervention programmes has moved away from straight developmental outcomes reflecting cognitive performance to more broadly include and support emotional and behavioural outcomes that in older children might manifest as positive aspects of self-esteem, self-efficacy and social functioning.

Being a parent involves responding to demands that are often non-contingent and to some extent unpredictable, at least as far as timing is concerned. At the same time, parents are obliged to respond to needs that are routine and repetitive which recur on multiple occasions. Caring for a young infant or managing young children’s behaviour and parents’ own responses as they provide caregiving on a regular real-time basis can be both exhausting and confusing, particularly for first-time parents. Understanding this from the parent and infant perspective is important for parents themselves, their wider families and the health professionals with whom they interact (Brazelton & Nugent, 2011; Scher, 2001; Van Bussel, Spitz, & Demyttenaere, 2010).

In the competition between addressing one’s own needs and the demands of a dependent infant or child, adjustments have to be made in order for both parents and children to function adequately and with an appropriate identity and sense of self-worth. However, the capacity for and extent of adjustment are not equal, as research on infant sleep problems and parental fatigue and coping strategies indicate (Giallo, Rose, & Vittorino, 2011) and individual differences between infants may have a significant role. Other factors that have been shown to impact on parenting include those affecting well-being, both directly and indirectly. These include access to resources, particularly practical and emotional support, the quality of the couple relationship, current physical health and psychological well-being and past mental health, but also concerns about employment, housing and the availability of child care.

The articles in this edition of the journal reflect some of these key issues and complexities of these in relation to parenting: that by Dunning and Giallo explores further the relationship between parenting stress, fatigue and satisfaction in their parenting role; Denis and colleagues’ article on high-risk pregnancy provides insights about the support needed by this group of women; Markey and colleagues’ article investigates the associations between mothers’ perceptions in relation to their own weight and their attitudes and worries about infant feeding; Spiteri focuses on the compromises that women make and the psychological adjustment required in returning to work after childbirth and the intense period of early child care and parent–infant attachment that has just been established; and Sejourne and colleagues explore the impact of partner input in relation to parental leave and engagement in childcare in the early post-partum period. Other article on couples managing infertility, repeated pregnancies among adolescents and coping with grief following termination for foetal abnormality are less directly relevant to the practical business of parenting, but do relate to broader issues associated becoming a parent, nevertheless.

Understanding the many psychological issues associated with early parenting and some of the different pathways taken enables interventions of any kind to be better planned and executed. However, the diversity of circumstances, differences between individuals and in expectations and needs means that further, perhaps more focused research needs to be carried out if we are to better understand and support parents in feeling good about their role and carrying it out well.