The aim of this study was to evaluate parental concerns in general parenting. The participants were 3842 parents of children between 3 and 10 years old, attending public preschools and primary schools, from a stratified random sample of Portuguese parents. Parents completed a parental concerns’ scale that comprises five subscales: family and school problems; eating, sleep and physical complaints; preparation; fears; and negative behaviours. The results reported that 93.4 per cent of parents expressed some concern about the issues presented in the scale. Comparative analysis reported significant differences between mothers and fathers; child’s gender; child’s schooling level; mothers’ and fathers’ level of education, age at childbirth, marital status, and employment status. These results may indicate that parental concerns are an expected aspect of parenting, and that they should be addressed in family practice. Moreover, the reported differences between groups pointed to the need to develop specific intervention strategies.
AkisterJJohnsonK (2002) Parenting issues that may be addressed through a confidential helpline. Health & Social Care in the Community10(2): 106–111.
2.
AlehagenSHäggMKalén-EnterlövMJohanssonA (2011) Experiences of community health nurses regarding father participation in child health care. Journal of Child Health Care15(3): 153–162.
3.
AlfanoCAZakemAHCostaNMTaylorLKWeemsCF (2009) Sleep problems and their relation to cognitive factors, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Depression and Anxiety26(6): 503–512.
4.
AlgarvioSLealIMarocoJ (2010) Assessing parental concerns about child development: psychometric properties of a scale. Poster session presented at the 12th World Congress of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, July, Leipzig, Germany.
5.
AnhaltKMorrisTL (2008) Parenting characteristics associated with anxiety and depression: a multivariate approach. Journal of Early & Intensive Behavior Intervention5(3): 122–137.
6.
BlanchardLTGurkaMJBlackmanJA (2006) Emotional, developmental, and behavioral health of American children and their families: a report from the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health. Pediatrics117(6): e1202–1212.
7.
BurnhamJJLomaxRG (2009) Examining ethnicity and fears of children and adolescents in the United States: differences between Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic populations. Journal of Counselling and Development87: 387–393.
8.
ConnKMHaltermanJSFisherSGYoosHLChinNPSzilagyiPG (2005) Parental beliefs about medications and medication adherence among urban children with asthma. Ambulatory Pediatrics5(5): 306–310.
9.
CuffwrightM (2008) Managing children with asthma. Practice Nurse36(5): 25–30.
10.
EllingsonKDBriggs-GowanMJCarterASHorwitzSM (2004) Parent identification of early emerging child behavior problems: predictors of sharing parental concern with health providers. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine158(8): 766–772.
11.
FarrellMHolmesGColdicuttPPeakM (2003) Management of childhood constipation: parents’ experiences. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44(5): 479–489.
12.
FordTSayalKMeltzerHGoodmanR (2005) Parental concerns about their child’s emotions and behaviour and referral to specialist services: general population survey. British Medical Journal331(7530): 1435–1436.
13.
FredricksonDDDavisTCArnouldCLKennenEMHurnistonSGCrossJTBocchiniJA (2004) Childhood immunization refusal: provider and parent perceptions. Family Medicine36(6): 431–439.
14.
GarraldaMEBaileyD (1987) Psychosomatic aspects of children’s consultations in primary care. European Archives of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences236(5): 319–322.
GlascoeFP (1997) Parents’ concerns about children’s development: prescreening technique or screening test?Pediatrics99(4): 522–528.
17.
GlascoeFPDworkinPH (1995) The role of parents in the detection of developmental and behavioral problems. Pediatrics95(6): 829–836.
18.
GlascoeFPMacLeanWEStoneWL (1991) The importance of parents’ concerns about their child’s behavior. Clinical Pediatrics30(1): 8–11.
19.
HalfonNOlsonLMInkelasMMistryRSareenH, LangeL. (2002) Summary statistics from the National Survey of Early Childhood Health, 2002. Parent concerns, content, and quality of care. Vital Health Statistics15(3). Available athttp://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_15/sr15_003.pdf
20.
KanoyKSchroederC (1993) Suggestions to parents about common behavior problems in a pediatric primary care office. In: RobertsMKoocherGRouthDWillisD (eds) Readings in Pediatric Psychology. New York, NY: Plenum Press, pp.317–332.
21.
LampardAByrneSZubrickSDavisE (2008) Parents’ concern about their children’s weight. International Journal of Pediatric Obesity3(2): 84–92.
22.
LampeEMKarazsiaBTWildmanBG (2009) Identification of families at risk for behavior problems in primary care settings. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics30(6): 518–524.
23.
LongCGurkaMBlackmanJ (2008) Family stress and children’s language and behavior problems: results from the National Survey of Children’s Health. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education28: 148–157.
24.
MesibovGSchroederCWessonL (1993) Parental concerns about their children. In: RobertsMKoocherGRouthDWillisD (eds) Readings in Pediatric Psychology. New York, NY: Plenum Press, pp.307–316.
25.
O’BrienM (1996) Child-rearing difficulties reported by parents of infants and toddlers. Journal of Pediatric Psychology21(3): 433–446.
26.
ReijneveldSADe MeerGWiefferinkCHCroneMR (2008) Parents’ concerns about children are highly prevalent but often not confirmed by child doctors and nurses. BMC Public Health8: 124.
27.
SadehAFlint-OfirETiroshTTikotzkyL (2007) Infant sleep and parental sleep-related cognitions. Journal of Family Psychology21(1): 74–87.
28.
SlaterABowenJCorsiniNGardnerCGolleyRNoakesM (2010) Understanding parent concerns about children’s diet, activity and weight status: an important step towards effective obesity prevention interventions. Public Health Nutrition13(8): 1221–1228.
29.
SoenensBVansteenkisteMLuytenP (2010) Toward a domain-specific approach to the study of parental psychological control: distinguishing between dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control. Journal of Personality78(1): 217–256.
SticklerGBSalterMBroughtonDDAlarioA (1991) Parents’ worries about children compared to actual risks. Clinical Pediatrics30(9): 522–528.
32.
SwainJLorberbaumJKoseSStrathearnL (2007) Brain basis of early parent–infant interactions: psychology, physiology, and in vivo functional neuroimaging studies. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry48(3/4): 262–287.
33.
TriggsEGPerrinEC (1989) Listening carefully: improving communication about behavior and development: Recognizing parental concerns. Clinical Pediatrics28(4): 185–192.
34.
WaldEREwingLJClussPGoldstrohmSCiprianiLColbornDWeissfeldL (2007) Parental perception of children’s weight in a paediatric primary care setting. Child: Care, Health & Development33(6): 738–743.
