Controlling parenting behaviors in parents of children born preterm: a meta-analysis

Objective: This meta-analysis tested whether parents of preterm-born children differ from parents of full-term-born children regarding controlling parenting. Methods: Databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Open Access Theses and Dissertations, and Elton B. Stephens Company were searched for cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal studies examining controlling parenting in preterm-born children. Results: The meta-analysis included 27 independent data sets, derived from 34 studies, with a total of 8053 participants—3265 preterm and 4788 full-term children. Parents of children born preterm were more controlling than parents of children born full-term (Hedges’ g 5 0.29; 95% confidence interval: 0.19–0.39; z 5 5.48; p < 0.001). Heterogeneity analysis indicated significant variation in effects between studies (Q 5 148.46, p < 0.001), but the effects were not moderated by gestational age, birth weight, child age, child gender, parental education, type of parenting assessment method (observational vs parental self-report), parenting dimension measured (behaviors vs attitudes), type of controlling parenting (intrusiveness vs others), study design (cross-sectional vs longitudinal), year of publication, or geographical setting of the studies (America vs Europe). Conclusion: Findings suggest that parents of children born preterm are at higher risk for engaging in controlling parenting strategies, stressing the importance of psychosocial follow-up support for these parents.
This research was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia under grant SFRH/BD/118495/2016 assigned to Carolina Toscano.