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Mental Health of Preschool Children and their Mothers in a Mixed Urban/Rural Population

II. Family and Maternal Factors and Child Behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Edmund Sonuga-Barke
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Southampton
Jim Stevenson
Affiliation:
Institute of Child Health, University of London
Margaret J. J. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Southampton

Abstract

Background

The extent to which certain maternal, child and family characteristics are associated in families with a 3-year-old child were examined.

Method

A total population of families with a 3-year-old child and living in the New Forest were identified. Measures of child behaviour and the maternal GHQ-30 were obtained.

Results

Whereas behaviour problems were found to be significantly associated with all maternal and family factors (except social class), difficult temperament was only related to mother's recall of their own childhood as unhappy and overactivity was only significantly associated with maternal disturbance.

Conclusions

The results are consistent with maternal disturbance and difficult temperament acting independently and additively to influence the development of behaviour problems in preschool children.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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