Caregiver Parenting Stress Associated with Delays in Child Social-Emotional and Motor Development

Abstract

General-population research on child development in low- and middle-income countries is needed to explore and contextualize caregiver factors. This study evaluates caregiver parenting stress and child social-emotional and motor development among preschool-aged children (42–72 months) among 1222 caregiver-child pairs in São Paulo, Brazil. We investigated associations between parenting stress and child social-emotional development (measured via the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional, Second Edition [ASQ:SE-2]) and motor development (measured via the Motor Development Scale [MDS]), examining potential effect modification of these relationships by parenting social support. Data were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression with inverse probability weights to account for sampling design. Higher parenting stress was associated with delayed child development, indicated by a positive relationship with ASQ:SE-2 scores (higher scores indicating delayed social-emotional development), and a negative relationship with MDS scores (lower scores indicating delayed motor development). Caregiver social support acted as an effect modifier on the relationship between parenting stress and social-emotional development, strengthening the deleterious effect of parenting stress among caregivers with low social support. These results provide insight regarding modifiable caregiver-level factors that may be leveraged to improve child social-emotional development. Future research is needed to elucidate causal mechanisms and clarify relationships between caregiver factors and child motor development.