Association of Mother–Child Interactions and Play with Maternal Parenting Stress

Abstract

This study sought to clarify the relationship between parenting stress among mothers raising infants and the frequency of and feelings about interaction and play between mothers and their infants. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was distributed to primiparous mothers (of singleton children) at four facilities visited by healthy infants and their mothers (e.g., for infant health checkups or to take advantage of parent–child play spaces), with 106 responses selected for analysis. The contents of the survey consisted of subject background, frequency of interaction and play between mothers and their infants, the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF), and a “Feelings Toward the Baby Questionnaire.” The results showed that mothers who felt the financial burden of childcare and felt that it was a nuisance to do anything at all had significantly lower frequencies of interaction and play, and the frequency of mother–child interaction and play was negatively correlated with maternal parenting stress. In addition, the anxiety that mothers felt about interaction and play with their infants was associated with parenting stress, and multiple regression analysis revealed that a factor influencing parenting stress was the disconnect between mothers’ perception of parenting and its reality. The results indicate an association of mother–child interaction and play with parenting stress.