Waylen, A. and Stewart-Brown, Sarah L.. (2010) Factors influencing parenting in early childhood : a prospective longitudinal study focusing on change. Child: Care, Health and Development, Vol.36 (No.2). pp. 198-207. ISSN 0305-1862

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Abstract

Background Parenting influences child outcomes but does not occur in a vacuum. It is influenced by socio-economic resources, parental health, and child characteristics. Our aim was to investigate the relative importance of these influences by exploring the relationship between changing parental health and socio-economic circumstances and changes in parenting. Methods Data collected from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were used to develop an eight-item parenting measure at 8 and 33 months. The measure covered warmth, support, rejection, and control and proved valid and reliable. Regression analysis examined changes in financial circumstance, housing tenure, marital status, social support, maternal health and depression, and their influence on parenting score. The final model controlled for maternal age, education, and baseline depression. Results Most mothers reported warm, supportive parenting at both times. Maternal depression was the only variable for which both positive and negative change was associated with changes in parenting score. Less depression was associated with better parenting scores and more depression with worse parenting scores. Improvements in social support and maternal general health were both associated with improved parenting scores, but for neither of these variables was deterioration associated with deterioration in parenting scores. Worsening financial circumstances predicted deterioration in parenting score, but improvements were not predictive of improvements in parenting. Conclusions Programmes aiming to improve parental health and social support are likely to return greater dividends with regard to improving parenting than programmes that aim to reduce family poverty.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics
Divisions:	Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Mental Health and Wellbeing Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Journal or Publication Title:	Child: Care, Health and Development
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
ISSN:	0305-1862
Date:	March 2010
Volume:	Vol.36
Number:	No.2
Number of Pages:	10
Page Range:	pp. 198-207
Identification Number:	10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.01037.x
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Funder:	Joseph Rowntree Foundation
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/6488

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