Peer-reviewed article

The Associations of Parents' Psychological Well-Being and Resilience with Early Childhood Development.

Kara ŞŞ, Gümüş K, Çoban Ç, Cabar HD · 25 May 2026

Abstract

Objective This study examined the relationships between the developmental stages of children aged 6-72 months and their parents' psychological resilience and psychological well-being. Method The study was designed as a descriptive and correlational survey. The sample included a total of 184 children aged 6-72 months, as well as their parents, who visited Sinop Atatürk State Hospital. Data were collected face-to-face using the Personal Information Form, the Early Developmental Stages Inventory (EGE), the Psychological Well-being Scale (PWBS), and the Psychological Resilience Scale for Adults (PRS). The data were analyzed using the independent samples t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and simple and multiple linear regression analyses. Results According to the study's results, most children (92.4%) were found to be at a normal level in terms of overall development; importantly, personal-social skills had the highest rate of developmental delay (19.0%). Comparative analyses showed that the psychological resilience and psychological well-being scores of parents of children with typical development were higher than those of parents of children with developmental delays. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.330, p < 0.001) between the Early Developmental Stages Inventory score and the Psychological Well-being Scale, and a weak positive relationship (r = 0.154, p < 0.05) between the Psychological Resilience Scale and the Early Developmental Stages Inventory score. Regression analyses suggest that psychological well-being and resilience are associated with child development outcomes. Discussion and conclusions The findings of this study indicate that there are meaningful associations between parents' psychological well-being and resilience levels and children's early developmental outcomes. Children whose parents reported higher psychological well-being and resilience tended to demonstrate more favorable developmental profiles in several developmental domains. These results suggest that parental psychological characteristics may be relevant factors associated with early childhood developmental outcomes and should be interpreted within broader ecological and contextual frameworks.