Parenting stress and its correlates in an infant mental health unit: a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Table 1. Results of self-assessment instruments on psychiatric symtoms for mothers and fathers (n = 197).

	Mothers n = 129	Fathers n = 68	p-Value
SPSQ parenting stress	3.13 (SD = 0.6)	2.67 (SD = 0.6)	<.001^b
ASRS symptoms of ADHD	24 (19%)	3 (4%)	.006^a
HADS symptoms of anxiety	104 (81%)	23 (34%)	<.001^a
HADS symptoms of depression	52 (40%)	11 (16%)	.001^a
AUDIT harmful alcohol use last 12 months	11 (9%)	10 (15%)	.188^a
DUDIT harmful drug use last 12 months	11 (9%)	2 (3%)	.127^a

^a Pearson’s chi-square test.

^b t-Test.

Table 2. Demographic and social characteristics for mothers and fathers (n = 197).

	Mothers n = 129	Fathers n = 68	p-Value
Median age of parent, (years)	32.0 (range 19-46)	34 (range 18-47)
Primiparous	86 (67%)	45 (66%)	.945^a
Median age of child (months)	9.0 (range 1-48)	10.0 (range 2-48)
Married/cohabitating	108 (84%)	64 (94%)	.048^a
Educational background			.449^a
Primary, secondary ≤9 years of education	10 (8%)	9 (13%)
Upper secondary 10-12 years of education	50 (39%)	26 (38%)
College/university >12 years of education	69 (53%)	33 (49%)
Unemployment	21 (16%)	11 (16%)	.654^a
Ethnicity			.249^a
Swedish origin	86 (67%)	53 (78%)
European origin, other than Sweden	30 (23%)	11 (16%)
‘Outside Europe’ origin	13 (10%)	4 (6%)
Grew up with substance-abusing parent	35 (27%)	18 (27%)	.896^a
Parents in family of origin divorced	59 (46%)	27 (40%)	.417^a
Experienced traumatic life event	77 (64%)	25 (37%)	.001^a

^a Pearson’s chi-square test.

Table 3. Summary of regression analysis for variables predicting parental stress for the mothers and for the fathers.

	Mothers (n = 129)			Fathers (n = 68)
Variable	β	SE β	Sign	β	SE β	Sign
HAD Anxiety	0.367	0.119	0.002	0.091	0.136	0.505
HAD Depression	0.574	0.091	0.000	0.623	0.176	0.001
Traumatic life event	0.107	0.089	0.233	0.100	0.123	0.419
	R^2 = 0.381			R^2 = 0.261