Parenting Stress, Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Cues and Child Rearing Environment of First-time Mothers

초산모의 양육스트레스, 영아신호에 대한 민감성, 양육환경

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify relations among the parenting stress, maternal sensitivity to infant cues, parenting environment of first-time mothers. Method: The participants were 194 first-time mothers of babies aged 1-6 months who visited well-baby clinics in 5 hospitals. The data were collected from April 15 to June 15, 2003. Results: The parenting stress level was moderate with a mean score of 2.4(range 1-5). The parent domain and parent-child relationship domain of the parenting stress scale were significantly correlated with maternal sensitivity to infant feeding cues (r=-.178, p<.05; r=-.197, p<.01). Parenting stress was significantly correlated with childrearing environment(r=-2.19, p<.01). Parenting stress and childrearing environment were significantly different according to the educational level of the mothers and their prenatal care. Conclusions: Nursing interventions to reduce parenting stress in first-time mothers are needed to improve maternal sensitivity to infant cues and childrearing environment which foster infant development.