Stressful life events, psychological distress, coping, and parenting of divorced mothers: A longitudinal study

This was a prospective longitudinal study of the relationships among life s tress, psychological distress, coping, and parenting behaviors in a sample of divorced custodial mothers. First, the differential effects of major eve nts and daily stressors on psychological distress and parenting were explor ed. Second, the mediational links among stress, distress, and 3 dimensions of parenting behaviors were studied. Third, 3 coping strategies were studie d as moderators of the relationship between distress and parenting. The res ults showed that both major and small events had significant effects on par ental distress, with the effects of daily negative events being greater tha n those of major events. Parental distress mediated the relationships betwe en stressful life events and parental acceptance of their children's behavi ors. Parental coping strategies moderated the relationship between mothers' psychological distress and mothers' discipline practice.