Everyday stress of mothers with children between 0 and 4 years of age - a longitudinal study

In order to examine the extent and structure of child induced stress 133 mothers were interviewed every year from the first to the fourth birthday of their oldest child. The total stress measured by eleven indicators of the children's temperament, conduct and health was rather mild. It increased between the first and the third year and did not change in the fourth year. The main sources of stress were the children's character and the amount of attention they demanded from their mothers. Factor analysis revealed four dimensions of stress: personality characteristics, developmental level, physical and mental health. These dimensions proved to be basically the same at all four measurement points. Cluster analysis of the four dimensions of stress showed five patterns, which were fairly stable in time and differed in quality and extent of stress.