Hall Lynne A, Rayens Mary Kay, Peden Ann R
College of Nursing, University of Kentucky College of Nursing, Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0232, USA.
J Nurs Scholarsh. 2008;40(2):124-30. doi: 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2008.00216.x.
Knowledge of the relative contributions of risk factors in predicting young children's behavior problems may provide insights for the development of preventive interventions.
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify maternal predictors of children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors in a volunteer sample of 205 low-income, single mothers with children between 2 and 6 years of age.
Data were collected on chronic stressors, self-esteem, negative thinking, depressive symptoms, and child behavior during in-home interviews with the mothers.
Mothers' reports of internalizing and externalizing behaviors did not differ by sex or race of the child. Chronic stressors and depressive symptoms, in addition to control variables, explained 27% of the variability in internalizing behavior while these two variables accounted for 21% of the variability in externalizing behavior. For both internalizing and externalizing behavior, chronic stressors exerted the largest total effects. The effects of self-esteem and negative thinking were indirect, with the latter playing a stronger role. The indirect effect of negative thinking on child behavior was exerted through depressive symptoms, while self-esteem was linked with child behavior through both negative thinking and depressive symptoms.
Decreasing mothers' negative thinking, a variable amenable to intervention, may not only decrease a mother's depressive symptoms but also improve her perception of the child's behavior.
Decreasing mothers' negative thinking may provide a way to reduce their depressive symptoms and result in fewer behavior problems among their young children. Nurses working in primary care and community-based settings are in key positions to address this problem and improve the mental health of low-income mothers and positively affect the behavior of their children.
了解风险因素在预测幼儿行为问题方面的相对作用，可为预防性干预措施的制定提供参考。
本横断面研究旨在确定205名低收入单身母亲（其子女年龄在2至6岁之间）的样本中，母亲因素对孩子内化行为和外化行为的预测作用。
通过与母亲进行家庭访谈，收集有关慢性应激源、自尊、消极思维、抑郁症状和儿童行为的数据。
母亲报告的孩子内化行为和外化行为不存在性别或种族差异。除控制变量外，慢性应激源和抑郁症状解释了内化行为变异的27%，而这两个变量解释了外化行为变异的21%。对于内化行为和外化行为，慢性应激源的总体影响最大。自尊和消极思维的影响是间接的，消极思维的作用更强。消极思维对儿童行为的间接影响是通过抑郁症状发挥的，而自尊则通过消极思维和抑郁症状与儿童行为相关联。
减少母亲的消极思维（一个适合干预的变量），不仅可能减轻母亲的抑郁症状，还可能改善她对孩子行为的认知。
减少母亲的消极思维可能是减轻其抑郁症状、减少幼儿行为问题的一种方法。在初级保健和社区环境中工作的护士在解决这一问题、改善低收入母亲的心理健康以及积极影响其子女行为方面处于关键地位。
