Maternal Stress Mediates Association of Infant Socioemotional Development with Perinatal Mental Health in Socioeconomically Vulnerable Peruvian Settings

Magaly Nóblega, Olenka Retiz, Juan Nuñez del Prado, Ramón Bartra

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Increased maternal mental health during the perinatal period has been widely associated with a variety of positive outcomes for both mothers and infants. However, no studies in Peru have yet focused on studying maternal mental health and related psychological variables during this stage. Thus, the aim of this study was to test a model to associate a mother’s parental stress with infant socioemotional difficulties and maternal mental health. The sample included 988 mothers of infants aged 6 to 18 months from Peru, all from socioeconomically vulnerable settings. The findings showed that infant socioemotional difficulties were associated with poorer maternal mental health through the mother’s parental stress (χ2(7) = 28.89, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.03). These results provide a better understanding of the key elements associated with maternal mental health during the perinatal period in Peru and offer valuable insights for developing interventions and support strategies for socioeconomically vulnerable mothers and their young children.

Original languageEnglish
Article number844
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume21
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2024

Keywords

  • maternal mental health
  • parental stress
  • perinatal
  • socioemotional development

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