Abstract
Parenting a preterm infant is more challenging than a full-term one. Parent involvement in early intervention programs seems to have positive psychosocial effects on both the child and parent. CareToy is an innovative smart system that provides an intensive individualized home-based family-centred EI in preterm infants between 3 and 9 age-corrected months. A RCT study, preceded by a pilot study, has been recently carried out to evaluate the effects of CareToy intervention on neurodevelopmental outcomes with respect to Standard Care. This study aims at evaluating the effects of CareToy early intervention on parenting stress in preterm infants. Parents (mother and father) of a subgroup of infants enrolled in the RCT filled out a self-report questionnaire on parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF)) before (T0) and after (T1) the CareToy or Standard Care period (4 weeks), according to the allocation of their preterm infant. For twins, an individual questionnaire for each one was filled out. Results obtained from mothers and fathers were separately analysed with nonparametric tests. 44 mothers and 44 fathers of 44 infants (24 CareToy/20 Standard Care) filled out the PSI-SF at T0 and at T1. CareToy intervention was mainly managed by mothers. A significant (p < 0.05) reduction in Parental Distress subscale in the CareToy group versus Standard Care was found in the mothers. No differences were found among the fathers. CareToy training seems to be effective in reducing parental distress in mothers, who spent more time on CareToy intervention. These findings confirm the importance of parental involvement in early intervention programs. This trial is registered with Clinical Trial.gov NCT01990183.
Highlights
Parental stress can be defined as “a complex process in which adults feel overwhelmed in their role in relation to the responsibilities associated with it” [1]
Parents of a subgroup of infants enrolled in the RCT filled out a self-report questionnaire on parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF)) before (T0) and after (T1) the CareToy or Standard Care period (4 weeks), according to the allocation of their preterm infant
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of CareToy early intervention carried out on preterm infants, compared to Standard Care, on parental stress
Summary
Parental stress can be defined as “a complex process in which adults feel overwhelmed in their role in relation to the responsibilities associated with it” [1]. Abidin’s parenting stress theory [2, 3] includes three levels of stressors: those arising from the parental domain (e.g., sense of competence as a parent and attachment with a child); the child domain (e.g., adaptability to situations, mood); and the situational, contextual, and social domain (e.g., life events and work environment). These three domains work together to elicit appraisal by parents. A “physiologic” dose of stress could be motivational, but excessive parental stress may have negative consequences on the child and on the family as a whole [3]. The transition to parenthood is a crucial step whose evolution of both mental and emotional aspects has individual repercussions [4] often more evident in mothers [5] and, as a consequence, alters couple stability [6, 7]
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