Investigating the influences of parental stress on parents parenting practices

Summary: The present study examines whether parenting stress relates to parenting practices that mothers and fathers adopt, taking into consideration the parental sociodemographic characteristics and the number of children in the household. 245 Greek Cypriot parents (75% mothers and 25% fathers) took part in this survey. The average age of the parents was 38 + 7 years old. We applied the following two instruments: The Parents Αs Social Context Questionnaire (PASCQ), developed initially by Skinner et al., (1986) to assess the six parental dimensions of Warmth, Rejection, Structure, Chaos, Autonomy support, and Coercion, and the Parenting Stress Index (short form) (PSI-SF) to measure stress-levels associated with parenting of children younger than 12 (Abidin, 1995). Findings: Research findings indicated that parenting stress affects and predicts negatively the parenting practices that parents adopt. Furthermore, parenting practices were associated with children's socialization, wellbeing, nutrition, and psychological development. Positive parenting practices may be a protective factor for children and improve children's development and self-confidence. On the contrary, negative parenting practices and parental stress predicted a significant adverse effect on children's development and functioning and were linked to children's behavioral, social and emotional problems. Based on the research findings, parents' sociodemographic characteristics were significant factors in experienced parental stress and parenting practices. Particularly, the fathers’ results indicated a more dysfunctional relationship with their children than those of the mothers. Participants with lower monthly income, unemployed participants, parents who resided in rural areas, and families with more than one child experienced more parental stress and applied more harsh and authoritarian parenting practices towards their children. Applications: The state should seriously consider strategies and methods for addressing parenting stress, which severely impacts the parents' and children's quality of life. To improve children's wellbeing, parental interventions may consider strengthening family functioning and reducing parental stress among mothers and fathers.