Infant Crying, Sleeping, and Feeding Problems in Times of Societal Crises: The Mediating Role of Parenting Stress on Parenting Behavior in Fathers and Mothers

Background: /Objectives: Infant regulatory problems (RP), i.e. crying, sleeping, and feeding problems, are associated with unfavourable outcomes in later childhood. RP increased during the pandemic, however their occurence in the face of today’s societal challenges remains unclear. RP are strongly linked to parenting stress and less positive parenting behaviors but their interplay is less investigated. Methods: In this cross-sectional questionnaire-based study (ntotal =7,039), we compared incidences of crying, sleeping, and feeding problems in infants (0-2 years) in a pandemic (npandemic= 1,391) versus a post-pandemic (npost-pandemic= 5,648) sample in Germany. We also investigated the relationship between post-pandemic infant RP and parenting behaviors with parenting stress as a potential mediator for fathers and mothers. Results: Crying/ Sleeping problems (34.8%) and excessive crying (6.3%) were significantly higher pronounced in the post-pandemic sample. In both mothers and fathers, infant RP were significantly associated with less positive parenting behaviors. Parenting stress partially mediated this rela-tionship. Conclusions: RP in the post-pandemic era are even higher pronounced than during the pandemic, highlighting the imperative for health care professionals to focus on infant mental health. Par-enting stress emerges as an entry point for addressing the cycle of infant RP and maladaptive behaviors in both fathers and mothers.