Using data from the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project these 2 studies aimed to (1) independently analyze influences of 24 month maternal stress (Study 1) and 24 month paternal stress (Study 2) on children's developmental outcomes at 36 months; and (2) examine whether child gender moderates the relationship between maternal stress and child outcomes and between paternal stress and child outcomes. Multiple regression analyses for Study 1 revealed significant effects for mothers' parenting stress on all tested outcomes, but only lasting effects were revealed for children's language outcomes (i.e., 24m stress predicted 36m child language outcomes). Although maternal stress predicted children's outcomes, no gender differences were found in children's language and cognitive outcomes related to maternal stress. Findings suggested that girls were more vulnerable to higher maternal stress than were boys. In Study 2, father's parenting stress predicted children's lower cognitive scores at 36 months, but did not seem to impact other developmental domains. Girls, not boys, were found to be more susceptible to higher paternal stress and more adaptive to lower paternal stress in the cognitive domain. These findings present interesting implications for future studies.
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