Parenting Stress, Depression and Verbal Abuse of Infant's Mothers

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between parenting stress and depression in mothers of infants and verbal abuse. Methods: The data for this study was collected from 174 mothers of infants 12 to 48 months old who either used one of two pediatric clinics or one kindergarten. The instruments used for this study were a self-report questionnaire, PSI (Parenting Stress Index Short Form by Abidin), BDI (Beck Depression Instrument) and Verbal Abuse Measure. Regression analysis was the statistical method used for data analysis. Results: The mean score for depression in the mothers was 14.7 (range: 2-35), for parenting stress, 81.86 (range: 44-142), and for verbal abuse, 37.9 (range: 25-79). There were significant positive correlations for depression, parenting stress and verbal abuse in the mothers. Significant factors influencing verbal abuse were child domain, parent-child domain. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that there is a need to design interventions and develop programs for depression management and parenting stress for mothers of infants between 12 and 48 months.