Peer-reviewed article
Role of mothers' fear of negative evaluation and perceived parenting competence on early child development: a longitudinal examination from ante- to postnatal period.
Sasagawa S, Yokoyama C, Irino H, Okatsu A, Mitamura Y et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study followed 768 pregnant women in Japan from pregnancy through 56 weeks after birth to understand how mothers' fear of negative evaluation affects their confidence in parenting and their children's development. Mothers with higher fear of negative evaluation reported lower parenting confidence and were more likely to have children requiring specialist referral at one-month health checks. The research suggests that reducing maternal fear of negative evaluation during the perinatal period could improve mothers' confidence and their perceptions of their children's development.
Key points
- Strong negative association between mothers' fear of negative evaluation and perceived parenting competence (r = –.49)
- Higher prenatal fear of negative evaluation predicted increased likelihood of child requiring follow-up or specialist referral at one-month health check
- Associations between parenting competence and child developmental ratings strengthened over time, becoming strongest by 56 weeks postpartum
- Perceived criticism was linked to higher levels of fear of negative evaluation and reduced parenting competence
- Study used longitudinal data collection at four time points: during pregnancy and at 4, 26, and 56 weeks postpartum
Limitations
The study relied entirely on maternal self-reports of child development rather than objective clinical assessments, which may not accurately reflect actual developmental status. The research cannot establish causation or determine whether interventions to reduce maternal fear of negative evaluation would actually improve child outcomes.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Fear of negative evaluation (FNE) has been linked to dysfunctional parenting in childhood, but its influence during the perinatal period remains unexplored. The present study investigated whether FNE is longitudinally associated with lower perceived parenting competence and poorer child developmental outcomes as reported by mothers. It was further hypothesized that perceived criticism of one’s parenting would be related to higher levels of FNE and reduced parenting competence. METHODS: A total of 1,739 pregnant women were recruited through a large internet research panel in Japan. Participants completed online surveys at four time points: during pregnancy and at 4, 26, and 56 weeks postpartum. Complete longitudinal data were available for 768 women. Measures included the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC), and single-item maternal reports of child developmental indicators across regulatory, motor, social, and physical health domains, and perceived criticism. RESULTS: Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) showed a negative trait-level association between BFNE and PSOC (r = –.49, p < .001). Higher prenatal FNE predicted an increased likelihood that the child would require follow-up or specialist referral at the one-month health check. The associations between PSOC and child developmental ratings became strongest by 56 weeks postpartum, as did the relationships between perceived criticism and FNE. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that reducing FNE during the early perinatal period may strengthen parenting competence and improve maternal perceptions of child development later in the postpartum period. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was preregistered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR; ID: UMIN000044079, Date of registration: April 30, 2021).
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Potential intervention to reduce mothers' fear of negative evaluation during the perinatal period
- Population
- 1,739 pregnant women in Japan (768 with complete longitudinal data), followed from pregnancy to 56 weeks postpartum
Key finding
Negative trait-level association between fear of negative evaluation and parenting competence (r = –.49, p < .001)