# Parenting style in the NICU is stable, measurable, and predictive of 2-year parenting style

## TL;DR

Parenting styles observed in the NICU remain stable and can predict parenting styles at age 2.

## Contribution

The study shows that early NICU parenting behaviors reliably predict later parenting styles.

## Key findings

- BCQ scores from the NICU show high individual-level stability until age 2.
- Higher early parental structure scores correlate with more authoritative parenting at 2 years.
- The BCQ is a reliable and valid tool for measuring parenting styles in preterm infants.

## Abstract

To establish psychometric properties of Baby Care Questionnaire (BCQ) in preterm infants, individual level stability of BCQ scores from NICU to 2 years corrected gestational age (CGA), and to determine whether early BCQ scores predict 2-year parenting styles.

In this prospective study, the BCQ assessed early parental structure and attunement at 4 time points between NICU and 2-years CGA. The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) at 2-years evaluated authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles. Intraclass correlations analyzed reliability and Reliable Change Index (RCI) studied individual-level stability. Multivariate regression examined predictive properties.

n=162 parent/preterm infant dyads were followed sequentially. Cronbach’s α BCQ structure and attunement were 0.9 and 0.8. RCI showed high individual level stability of both constructs. Higher early structure scores were associated higher 2-year authoritative scores.

Early parenting characteristics beginning in the NICU are stable in infancy, measurable, reliable, and predictive of 2-year parenting styles. Early parental structure correlates with 2-year authoritative parenting style.