Parental Coping, Representations, and Interactions with Their Infants at High Risk of Cerebral Palsy

Silja Berg Kårstad; Åse Bjørseth; Johanna Lindstedt; Anne Synnøve Brenne; Helene Steihaug; Ann-Kristin Gunnes Elvrum

doi:10.3390/jcm12010277

Parental Coping, Representations, and Interactions with Their Infants at High Risk of Cerebral Palsy

J Clin Med. 2022 Dec 29;12(1):277. doi: 10.3390/jcm12010277.

Authors

Silja Berg Kårstad^{1

2}, Åse Bjørseth¹, Johanna Lindstedt³, Anne Synnøve Brenne¹, Helene Steihaug², Ann-Kristin Gunnes Elvrum^{4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare (RKBU Central Norway), Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7130 Trondheim, Norway.
² Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, 7130 Trondheim, Norway.
³ Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, 20500 Turku, Finland.
⁴ Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7130 Trondheim, Norway.
⁵ Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7130 Trondheim, Norway.
⁶ Clinical Services, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, 7130 Trondheim, Norway.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe parental coping, representations, and interactions during the time of inclusion in the Small Step early intervention program for infants at high risk of cerebral palsy (CP) in Norway (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03264339). Altogether, 11 infants (mean age 4.8 months, SD: 1.5) and their parents (mothers: n = 10, fathers: n = 9) were included. Parental coping was assessed using the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Parental representations and parent-infant interactions were assessed using the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI) and the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA). Parents' PSI-SF and HADS scores were within normal range; however, 26.7% showed symptoms of stress, 52.6% showed symptoms of anxiety, and 31.6% showed symptoms of depression above the cut-off. WMCI results indicate that 73.7% of the parents had balanced representations. For PCERA, the subscale Dyadic Mutuality and Reciprocity was of concern, while two other subscales were in areas of strength and three subscales in some concern areas. There were no differences between mothers and fathers. Most of the parents had balanced representations, some had mental or stress symptoms and many were struggling with aspects of the parent-infant interaction. This knowledge could be useful when developing more family-centered interventions.

Keywords: CP; anxiety; depression; fathers; infant; parents; parent–infant interaction; representations; stress.

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT03264339

Grants and funding

This research was funded by “Samarbeidsorganet” between the Central Norway Regional Health Authority and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway, grant number 90056100 and 46055600-102/153.