Optimism and positive and negative feelings in parents of young children with developmental delay

Abstract

Background: Parents' positive and negative feelings about their young children influence both parenting behaviour and child problem behaviour. Research has not previously examined factors that contribute to positive and negative feelings in parents of young children with developmental delay (DD).

Method: The present study sought to examine whether optimism, a known protective factor for parents of children with DD, was predictive of positive and negative feelings for these parents. Data were collected from 119 parents of preschool-aged children with developmental delay. Two separate hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to determine if optimism significantly predicted positive feelings and negative feelings and whether optimism moderated relations between parenting stress and parent feelings.

Results: Increased optimism was found to predict increased positive feelings and decreased negative feelings after controlling for child problem behaviour and parenting stress. In addition, optimism was found to moderate the relation between parenting stress and positive feelings.

Conclusion: Results suggest that optimism may impact how parents perceive their children with DD. Future research should examine how positive and negative feelings impact positive parenting behaviour and the trajectory of problem behaviour specifically for children with DD.

Keywords: behaviour problems; developmental delay; early childhood; parent feelings; parent optimism; parenting stress.