Parenting stress and perceived infant's characteristics: the role of mother's attachment style.

Introduction: The literature on parenting stress has shown that it is associated with negative parenting practices and children’s behavioral problems. Furthermore, some studies found that less positive parenting practices are associated with greater concerns with respect to child development. Starting from the assumption that a secure attachment parent’s style is more frequently associated with a more functional caregiving and a lower risk in the child’s development, the present study aims to verify if mother's attachment style can change the way in which the parenting stress affects her perception of her child’s abilities. Method: For this purpose, 357 mothers of as many 12-month-old infants were recruited in several pediatrician's offices in Rome. We used three questionnaires: Parenting Stress Index – Short Form, Attachment Style Questionnaire and First Year Inventory. Results: Through a hierarchical regression, we observed that parenting stress is the most important predictor of the mother's perception of the child's social communication and sensory regulatory function, followed by anxious and avoidant mother’s attachment styles. Nevertheless, through moderation analyses, we observed that mothers with high levels of avoidance and mothers with high levels of anxiety, when particularly stressed in their parental role, tend to see their children as less able in the social communication area. Moreover, when anxiety levels decrease, the mother’s perception of her child’s social communication skills is more positive, despite high levels of stress. Conclusions: The results of this study show us that attachment style can not only be an important protective factor in cases of high parental stress, but can also increase a stressed parent’s perception of the child as less competent when characterized by anxiety and avoidance.