Symptoms of anxiety and depression among mothers of pre-school children: effect of chronic strain related to children and child care-taking.

BACKGROUND: Factors that affect maternal mental health were studied when the children were 30 and 50 months old, and changes in the importance of these factors over time were analyzed. A specific aim was to elucidate the role of chronic strain related to children and child care-taking. This study follows up previous work on the influence of social class, strain and social support on maternal mental distress when the children were 18 months old. METHODS: The sample is population based, and 1,081 parents were invited to fill out questionnaires. Maternal mental distress was measured by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-25). Multiple regression analyses were conducted at each time point and chi-square tests were used to analyze the changes between the estimated regression coefficients over time. RESULTS: Chronic strain related to children and child care-taking consistently predicted maternal mental distress. Among the specific child related strains, problems with child care-taking were significantly associated with maternal symptom levels at all time points. The importance of two specific child problem behaviors (activity level and the child being a worrier) on maternal mental health changed over time. LIMITATIONS: Conclusions about causality can not be drawn based on cross-sectional analyses. The self-report measures used here may be biased by the current mood state. CONCLUSIONS: Problems with child care arrangements and combining work and child care-taking are predictive of maternal mental health when the children are 18, 30 and 50 months old. The risk and protective factors found here may have implications for prevention and intervention.

Dimensions of early childhood behavior problems: stability and predictors of change from 18 to 30 months.

The prevalence, structure, stability, and predictors of change in early behavior problems were examined in a population-based sample of Norwegian children at 18 and 30 months of age (N = 750). A clear factor structure involving four dimensions emerged at both assessment times: Two factors were characterized by externalizing behaviors and were labeled Social Adjustment and Overactive-Inattentive; one factor tapped internalizing problems and was labeled Emotional Adjustment; and the fourth, related to general immaturity, was labeled Regulation. Specific patterns of child and family risk factors were associated with stability and change over the two time points for each factor. Children with stable problems had the most problematic characteristics on all significant predictors, followed by children with problems at one, but not both, time points. The data suggest that it is possible to identify risk factors for stable problems at 18 months, allowing some prediction of those children whose problems will persist over early childhood. Since specific risk factors emerged for specific types of behavior problems, the results may provide some much-needed guidance to early intervention efforts.

The EAS temperament questionnaire--factor structure, age trends, reliability, and stability in a Norwegian sample.

A population-based sample of Norwegian children aged 18 months (N = 921), 30 months (N = 784), and 50 months (N = 737) was examined with the EAS Temperament Survey (Buss & Plomin, 1984). The factor structure, psychometric properties, and stability estimates of the instrument were assessed. A cross-validation of the temperament factors of Emotionality, Activity, and Shyness show that the covariance structure conforms with the three scales described by Rowe and Plomin (1977) and Boer and Westenberg (1994). When items from the experimental scale of Sociability were included in the analysis, a four-factor solution confirmed the separate usability of this scale as well. The factor structure does not seem to vary substantially with the age of the children. The scores on the four temperament scales show high stability from one time of measurement to the next. Although no strong gender differences were found, there were significant age trends. Emotionality and Shyness increased from 18 to 50 months, while Activity and Sociability decreased. The study confirmed the structure and stability of the EAS over 3 years among young children, providing support for its use with children as young as 18 months.

Child related strain and maternal mental health: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore how normal age-related behaviour patterns and medical status affect maternal mental health in children aged 1.5-4 years. METHOD: Data were collected via questionnaires from a population-based sample. Outcome variable was the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25). Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the extent to which changes in the predictors (sociodemographic variables, chronic strains, negative life events, maternal somatic health and social support) explained changes in maternal distress. RESULTS: Changes in strain related to children and child care-taking predicted changes in maternal mental distress stronger than the other explanatory variables. Only effects of changes in child care-taking were significant for both time periods. CONCLUSION: Changes in maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression appear to be influenced by changes associated with children's behaviour, their medical status and child care-taking arrangements.

The influence of social class, strain and social support on symptoms of anxiety and depression in mothers of toddlers.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to identify risk and protective factors for anxiety and depression among mothers of toddlers. METHODS: A population-based sample of 921 Norwegian mothers with 18-month-old children completed a questionnaire designed to examine the impact of socioeconomic and demographic factors, somatic health problems, negative life events, chronic strain and social support on symptoms of anxiety and depression (HSCL-25). RESULTS: There was a moderate aversive effect of negative life events and chronic strain and a moderate protective effect of social support on the symptom level, but no interaction effects were found between the risk and protective factors. Behaviour problems among the children clearly seemed to affect the mothers' symptom level. The symptom level varied with background factors like the mothers' education, employment status and age even after controlling for the effect of strain and social support. The largest effect of the background factors seemed to be indirect, however, mediated through their effect on the risk and protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: Although problems with the children's behaviour and child care arrangements were observed to have a strong impact on the mothers' symptom level, the frequencies of such problems appeared to be less dependent on socioeconomic conditions than did other types of strain.