Maternal parenting stress from birth to 36 months, maternal depressive symptoms, and physical punishment to 10-year-old children: a population-based birth cohort study

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the association between parenting stress, maternal depressive symptoms, and use of physical punishment when the child is 10 years old. Methods Data from the Tokyo Early Adolescence Survey on early adolescents and primary caregivers ( N = 4478) were used. Frequency of using physical punishment, level of depressive symptoms (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale 6), and maternal parenting stress experienced at 1, 3, 9, 18, and 36 months after birth were evaluated. Multiple linear and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results Mothers (1633) who provided information on parenting stress at all the five points were included for the analysis. After controlling for the child’s age, sex, birth weight, maternal age, and annual household income, presence of maternal parenting stress at every time point, except at three months after birth, was significantly associated with an increased risk of using physical punishment with the 10-year-old. After adjusting for levels of depressive symptoms, significant associations were found between use of physical punishment and maternal parenting stress at 1 month (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.71, 95% confidence interval [Cl] 1.12–2.61) and 36 months (adjusted OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.10–2.61) after birth. Conclusion Maternal parenting stress experienced at 1 and 36 months after birth predicted use of physical punishment, even after adjusting for maternal depressive symptoms. Maternal support should, therefore, be provided to mothers to cope with parenting stress even three years after birth to prevent the use of physical punishment in early adolescence.