Parental protective factors and stress in NICU mothers and fathers

Objective Evaluate the effect of parental protective factors on parental stress at time of NICU admission and prior to discharge. Study design Parents of infants born at <35 weeks gestation were approached at a single level III NICU. Consenting parents completed a questionnaire on admission and prior to infant's discharge of demographic information and three validated instruments: (1) parental stress (PSS:NICU), (2) Parents' Assessment of Protective Factors (PAPF), and (3) health literacy (PHLAT-8). Results Mean PSS:NICU Total score was 2.8 +/- 0.9 (Time 1) and 2.6 +/- 1.1 (Time 2). Mean PAPF scores in all subcategories were high (means >3, +/- 0.3-0.5) (Time 1, Time 2). There was no clinically significant association between PSS:NICU scores and PAPF or any of the other measured variables. Conclusion PAPF and other commonly implicated factors were not associated with perceived self-reported parental stress at time of NICU admission and prior to discharge.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the impact of parental protective factors on parental stress at NICU admission and prior to discharge, finding no significant association between them. High levels of protective factors were reported, but they did not correlate with parental stress levels.