Maternal parenting stress in the face of early regulatory disorders in infancy: a machine learning approach to identify what matters most
Objective: Early regulatory disorders (ERD) in infancy are typically associated with high parenting stress (PS). Theoretical and empirical literature suggest a wide range of factors that may contribute to PS related to ERD. The aim of this study was to identify key predictors of maternal PS within a...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
02 August 2021
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| In: |
Frontiers in psychiatry
Year: 2021, Volume: 12, Pages: 1-12 |
| ISSN: | 1664-0640 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.663285 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.663285 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.663285/full 
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| Author Notes: | Anna K. Georg, Paul Schröder-Pfeifer, Manfred Cierpka and Svenja Taubner |
| Summary: | Objective: Early regulatory disorders (ERD) in infancy are typically associated with high parenting stress (PS). Theoretical and empirical literature suggest a wide range of factors that may contribute to PS related to ERD. The aim of this study was to identify key predictors of maternal PS within a large predictor data set in a sample of N = 135 mothers of infants diagnosed with ERD. Methods: We used machine learning to identify relevant predictors. Maternal PS was assessed with the Parenting Stress Index. The multivariate dataset assessed cross-sectionally consisted of 464 self-reported and clinically rated variables covering mother-reported psychological distress, maternal self-efficacy, parental reflective functioning, socio-demographics, each parent’s history of illness, recent significant life events, former miscarriage/abortion, pregnancy, obstetric history, infants’ medical history, development, and social environment. Variables were drawn from behavioral diaries on regulatory symptoms and parental co-regulative behavior as well as a clinical interview which was utilized to diagnose ERD and to assess clinically rated regulatory symptoms, quality of parent-infant relationship, organic/biological and psychosocial risks, and social-emotional functioning. Results: The final prediction model identified 11 important variables summing up to the areas maternal self-efficacy, psychological distress (particularly depression and anger-hostility), infant regulatory symptoms (particularly duration of fussing/crying), and age-appropriate physical development. The RMSE (i.e., prediction accuracy) of the final model applied to the test set was 21.72 (R² = .58). Conclusions: This study suggests that among behavioral, environmental, developmental, parent-infant relationship, and mental health variables a mother’s higher self-efficacy, psychological distress symptoms particularly depression and anger-symptoms, symptoms in the child particularly fussing/crying symptoms, and age-inappropriate physical development are associated with higher maternal PS. With these factors identified, clinicians may more efficiently assess a mother’s PS related to ERD in a low-risk help-seeking sample. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 02.08.2021 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1664-0640 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.663285 |