Mothers’ Parenting Stress and Internalizing and Externalizing Behavioural Problems of Children

The detrimental influence of mother’s parenting stress was investigated as a risk factor for a range of child behavior issues including emotional and behavioral problems. A sample of 200 Pakistani mothers with at least one child between the ages of 6-12 years participated in the study. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, where mothers self-reported on both their parenting stress and their children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Parenting stress was assessed using Urdu version of the Parenting Stress Scale (Khalid & Fatima, 2010) and the Child Problem Checklist (Tariq & Hanif, 2007) was used to assess children’s internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Results showed that maternal parenting stress significantly predicted both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in children. Mothers’ reported level of parental stress, as reflected in lower satisfaction with their role, was positively associated with both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in their children. Additionally, it has been found that the type of school attendance (public or private) played a significant role in explaining parenting stress and its relation to behavior problems. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of considering mothers’ experiences in their parenting role when addressing child behavior problems.