The purpose of this study was to identify infant and maternal characte
ristics that predict psychological distress among mothers of preterm i
nfants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Infant cha
racteristics included birth weight, gestational age, and ventilatory s
upport, and maternal characteristics included age, parity, and socioec
onomic status. Mothers (n = 142) completed questionnaires including a
demographic form, the Parental Stressor Scale, and the Symptom Checkli
st 90-R. In hierarchical regression analyses, maternal NICU-specific d
istress was more strongly predicted by infant characteristics [F(3,135
) = 6.80, p < .05] with maternal variables covaried. Maternal general
psychological distress was more strongly predicted by maternal charact
eristics [F(3,135) = 6.05, p < .05]) with infant variables covaried. T
wenty-eight percent of mothers reported clinically significant psychol
ogical distress compared with 10% in a normative population. Psycholog
ical distress among mothers of preterm infants appears to be common an
d deserves clinical consideration. The use of standardized questionnai
res as part of the assessment process may improve case identification
and psychosocial service delivery in the NICU.