RESUMO
Parenting stress occurs when demands of the parenting role are perceived as overwhelming and has been proposed as a mechanism through which postpartum mood disturbances may impact child psychopathology. In a prospective longitudinal birth cohort of 111 birthing parent-child dyads, this study examined whether the relationship between birthing parents' mood symptoms in infancy (3 months postpartum) and their child's internalizing behaviour in early childhood (3 and 6 years old) is mediated by parenting stress at 6 months postpartum. The relationship between higher postpartum mood symptoms at 3 months and increased internalizing behaviour at 3 years of age was mediated by increased reports of parenting stress at 6 months (b = .12, 95% CI = .02, .25). This association was not evident at 6 years. Parenting stress in early infancy may provide a treatment target to reduce the impact of perinatal depression on early child behavior.