Characteristics and related factors of Japanese mothers who have faced difficulties with childrearing

Abstract

Objective: To identify characteristics of mothers who face difficulties with childrearing.Design and Sample: Cross-sectional study. During 2014, 221 mothers and 248 children living in City A within the Tokyo metropolis were registered as requiring help with childrearing. Nursing records of 205 mothers (92.8%) and their 227 children (91.5%) were available. We excluded 29 mothers and children owing to incomplete data for a final sample of 176 mothers (79.6%) and 198 children (79.8%).Measures: Difficulties with childrearing were assessed by self-reported questionnaires at the newborn child's 4-month health checkups. Data on maternal and child variables were collected from nursing records. Results:The "Difficulties group" included 59 mothers (35.4%) and their 70 children.Logistic regression analysis showed that mothers who were aged 40 years or older, who had a total score on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale of 9 or greater, who used more child-care support services, and who were monitored more frequently by public health nurses had a high risk of facing difficulties with childrearing. Conclusions:Periodic monitoring by PHNs is a key strategy to improve the impact of the difficulties of childrearing for mothers of yoshien jido and their children. K E Y W O R D Sadvanced maternal age, child abuse, difficulty, maternal-child health, parent-child relationship

Japanese Version of the Parent Health Locus of Control Scales: Validity and Reliability

“…Additionally, we found that scores on the Professional Influence scale were higher in caregivers aged 36 years and older. Likewise, among mothers living in Japan who were registered as in need of parenting support in a city, significantly more mothers aged 40 years and older reported difficulty in parenting at the 4-month-old health examination, compared to mothers in their twenties [24]. It has been reported that older mothers do not receive adequate parenting support because their parents are too old to help them [25].…”

“…It has been reported that older mothers do not receive adequate parenting support because their parents are too old to help them [25]. Thus, Yoshioka et al [24] state that older mothers must seek practical advice from medical personnel about building a new life adapted for the needs of their infants. Therefore, we assume that, as caregivers are older, they ask and entrust more frequently medical professionals with the management of their children's health.…”

Characteristics of Pregnant Women and New Mothers Identified as Being At-Risk for Child Maltreatment in Early Pregnancy

“…The PHNs in charge of maternal and child healthcare in City A registered the data of each case using a form developed, based on the report of the national government regarding child maltreatment death [22], and the previous research [21,22,[26][27][28]. This study included four categories of variables: (1) maternal demographics: age, economic status, history of moving in and out from City A, having illness and disabilities (physical, mental, intellectual illness/disability), having a history of childhood abuse experiences, postnatal depression, having communication problems, preparation for delivery and childrearing, EPDS scores at neonatal home visit, difficulties with childrearing at 4-month health checkup; (2) familyrelated factors: cohabiting family, having family support, husband's (partner's) mental illness/disability, unstable family relationships, having health problems of the baby, status of baby's siblings (i.e., the number of siblings, history of abuse in siblings, support for the siblings by PHNs); (3) PHN's assessment: whether or not the interview at the notification of pregnancy contributed to the early detection of the case, having problems at the 32-week pregnancy follow-up by PHNs, having issues as reported in their case, purpose of PHN support; (4) use of maternal and child healthcare services.…”

“…Furthermore, each local government conducts health checkups for all children at the age of 4 months, 18 months, and 3 years. Through periodic monitoring of mothers who report difficulty in childrearing at their babies' 4-month health checkups, PHNs prevented child maltreatment [22]. However, these systems have not adequately contributed to decreasing the total number of child maltreatment reports.…”

“…Additionally, some mothers are detected as high-risk for child maltreatment during or after the postpartum period. PHNs register these cases as "yoshien jido and families" (yoshien jido) [26] and continue to support them [21,22]. Yoshien means requiring the support of PHNs during the postpartum period, and jido means child in Japanese.…”