title: Parental psychological well-being and behavioral outcome of very low birth weight infants at 3 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose was to explore whether poor parental psychological well-being is associated with behavioral problems of very low birth weight (VLBW, ≤1500 g) infants at 3 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective cohort study, 189 VLBW preterm infants born between January 2001 and December 2006 at the Turku University Hospital, Finland, were followed. Validated questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, Parenting Stress Index, and Sense of Coherence Scale) were mailed to the parents when their children were 2 years corrected age. A total of 140 parents evaluated the behavior of the child at 3 years by filling out the Child Behavior Checklist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significant associations between most of the measures of parental symptoms of depression, parenting stress, and sense of coherence and the behavioral outcome of the VLBW infants. The concomitant symptoms of both parents were associated with more problematic child behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents report more behavioral and emotional problems in VLBW children at age 3 if they themselves have had symptoms of depression, parenting stress, or weak sense of coherence 1 year earlier. The new finding of this study was to show the significance of the father's psychological well-being on the behavioral development of a preterm child.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. mira.huhtala@utu.fi
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.forename: Riikka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Korja
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Haataja
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lapinleimu
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rautava
mesh_terms: D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires