Parental emotional adjustment as a primary target for parenting programs: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Parental emotional adjustment refers to the degree of distress associated with the parenting role and can be correlated with increased use of negative parenting practices. Parenting programs are a critical strategy globally to help ensure children reach their full developmental potential; however, their effects on parental mental health outcomes are inconsistent. Methods: Cross-sectional self-report survey data from mothers, fathers, and caregivers (e.g., grandmother) from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan were analysed to explore: (1) the relative contributions of parental adjustment on parenting practices as measured by the Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales, and (2) differences in parenting practices across diverse contexts. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise the sample. Multiple logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between parental adjustment and parenting generally and parental consistency, coercive parenting, positive encouragement, and behaviours supporting the parent-child relationship specifically. Results: A total of 642 participants (mean age = 33.2 years; 79% female; 89.9% partnered) from Afghanistan (n = 111), Indonesia (n = 157), Kyrgyzstan (n = 118), Malaysia (n = 103), and Uzbekistan (n = 153) completed the survey. Results showed that parental adjustment was significantly positively associated with parenting practices, explaining 5.9% of the unique variance. Specifically, better parental adjustment was significantly positively associated with the use of positive parenting practices, including praise, attention, affection, and displays of pride, but not significantly associated with negative parenting practices such as spanking, shouting, and getting angry with children. Finally, significant differences in parental consistency, coercive parenting, positive encouragement, and parenting practices supporting the parent-child relationship were found across the five LMICs. Conclusions: A robust literature demonstrates the importance of supporting parents’ mental health and emotional adjustment to improve both parent and child outcomes. Our results highlight that better emotional adjustment is associated with more positive parenting practices, suggesting that interventions that support a parent’s ability to cope with the parenting role will increase the use of responsive and nurturing childrearing practices. However, further research is now required to understand how best to integrate mental health-related content with other key intervention material (e.g., training in responsive caregiving), including with regards to the optimal ‘dose’ of each component, to optimise effectiveness.