Impact of a family support program on mothers' social support and parenting stress.

Abstract

The study examined two components of a family support program, a mothers' self‐help discussion group and a parent education group, to determine their effects on social support and parenting stress. Findings suggest that, after three months of program participation, mothers in both groups felt less social isolation and parenting stress than did mothers in the control group.

Parenting stress in early motherhood: stress spillover and social support1

“…Some previous investigations have found that higher social support is associated with lower parenting stress ( McConnell, Breikreuz, & Savage, 2010 ) and at least one intervention directed at improving mothers' support was shown to decrease parenting stress ( Telleen, Herzog, & Kilbane, 1989 ). As Belsky (1984 ) has suggested, social support may reduce parenting stress directly if other individuals help with childcare tasks or commend the parent's handling of childcare issues.…”

“…Romantic partners and other close confi dants can do much to mitigate the eff ects of adversity by responding to mothers' emotional needs. Support-based interventions may also be appropriate given that parenting support groups ( Telleen, et al, 1989 ) and home-visiting programs ( Armstrong, Fraser, Dadds, & Morris, 1999 ) have been shown to reduce parenting stress.…”

Social support and education groups for single mothers: a randomized controlled trial of a community-based program

“…Social support exerts a broad positive influence on personal health, [23][24][25] maternal-child relations, child psychosocial functioning and family functioning. [26][27][28][29][30] Maternal education about child development can lead to improved child competence, academic test performance and intelligence quotients. [31][32][33][34] Parent management training, both group based and individually tailored, has been shown to have a positive effect on parenting and on children's emotional and behavioural adjustment.…”

Family and community support of urban pregnant students: Support person, function, and parity

“…The Resource Size Scale developed by Telleen lists 11 categories of people from the family and 8 from the community system in each of seven functional areas (Telleen et al, 1989). A support person is one perceived by the pregnant student as being available for support during pregnancy.…”

“…Adolescents view family members, especially their mothers, as their most important sources of support (Zimet, Powell, Farley, Werkman, & Berkoff, 1990). Living with one or both parents was found to increase the length of participation in parenting programs (Telleen, Herzog, & Kilbane, 1989). Siblings and friends provided task assistance and emotional support.…”