Parenting Stress and Maternal Attachment to Infants: Examining the Moderating Effect of Social Support
AUTHOR : 채진영,박유정
INFORMATION : page. 101~120 / 2016 Vol.23 No.4
ABSTRACT
The present study tested the possibility that social support moderated the impact of mothers’ parenting
stress on their attachment to their infants. One hundred and seventy four mothers raising six- to
eight-month-old infants in J province in Korea completed questionnaires regarding their parenting stress,
social support, and attachment to their infant. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and a
structural modeling analysis based on Ping’s (1996) two-step method. Mothers’ parenting stress and social
support were significantly correlated with their attachment to the infants. Specifically, mothers’ parenting
stress was negatively associated with maternal attachment to the infant, whereas social support was
positively associated with maternal attachment to infant. Furthermore, the impact of maternal parenting
stress on the level of attachment to their infant was moderated by social support. These results suggest
that social support for mothers with infants can alleviate the negative influence of parenting stress on the
psychological bond between the mothers and their children.