The Relationship of Child Temperament, Maternal Parenting Stress, Maternal Child Interaction and Child Health Rating

Considering the relationship between maternal and child factors that influence child health is key to understanding child wellbeing. Several studies have considered the contributions of familial and environmental factors on child health outcomes. Expanding on this research, this study examines child temperament, maternal parenting stress, and maternal–child interaction as predictors of child health, while controlling for poverty, parental relationship status, and the number of children in the household factors known to impact health. Multinomial regression analysis of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study year one data set, n = 3712, was conducted to test three hypotheses: higher child emotionality will be predictive of lower child health rating, higher parenting stress will be predictive of lower child health ratings, and, higher levels of maternal–child interaction will be predictive of higher child health ratings. Findings indicated that all study variables were significant predictors of child health ratings [− 2 Log likelihood = 6657.40, χ2 215.661, p < .001, Nagelkerke R2 .067], demonstrating the importance of temperament, parenting stress, and maternal–child interaction when considering child health. Social workers working with children and families in a variety of settings may want to target these factors to improve health outcomes of children.