Parent-child interactions, parenting stress, and developmental outcomes at4 years

This study examined the relationship of father-child and mother-child inter actions, perceptions of parenting stress, socioeconomic status, and prematu rity to development of 44 healthy preterm and 49 full-term Canadian childre n at 4 years of age. Preterm or full-term birth, infant sex, and parental a ge accounted for 30-32% of the variance in cognitive and motor scores, resp ectively, on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. Parenting stress, father-child interactions at 12 months, and preterm and full-term birth ac counted for 19% of the variance for expressive language on the Clinical Eva luation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool (CELF-P). For receptive language on the CELF-P, mother-child interaction at 12 months, mother's spousal rel ationship, and preterm and full-term birth accounted for 13% of the varianc e. Addressing early parent-child interaction and perceptions of parenting s tress may improve child language development.