It is well-known and documented that the premature birth of an infant and its subsequent hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a source of considerable stress for parents. However, little is known about the parents' emotional state and functioning during the months following the infant's discharge from the NICU. The present study compares parental stress and perceptions of parental competence among mothers and fathers of preterm infants two months after discharge from the NICU in Israel with those of parents of full-term infants. The findings show that even at this point in time parents of preterm infants still show higher levels of parental stress and lower perceptions of parental competence than do parents of full-term infants. The importance of the findings for the design of intervention and treatment programs is discussed.

The article describes the formation and characteristics of the new evolving community of illegal Latin American foreign workers in Jerusalem while adopting the ecological perspective, which examines human development and behaviour in various contexts of their social and cultural environments.