Parental Mental Health and Parenting Behaviors Following Very Preterm Birth: Associations in Mothers and Fathers and Implications for Child Cognitive Outcome

Abstract

Objectives To investigate the longitudinal associations between parental mental health symptoms within 4 weeks of birth, parenting behaviors at 1 year, and child general cognitive ability at 4.5–5 years in a sample of children born very preterm (VP). This study also examined whether these associations differed based on level of family social risk. Methods Participants were 143 children born <30 weeks’ gestation and their parents. Within 4 weeks of birth, mothers’ and fathers’ depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Anxiety Subscale. Parents’ sensitive and structuring parenting behaviors we..