What Makes Parents of Young Children Stressed? A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies

The arrival of a baby and the early years of a child's life represent a critical period for parents, often marked by increased parental stress that can impact both their well-being and the child's development. Although parental stress has been widely studied, no systematic review has yet focused specifically on early childhood. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review synthesizing evidence on factors examined as antecedents of parental stress during the first three years postpartum. Following PRISMA guidelines, we included 108 quantitative studies published in the past 12 years that investigated variables statistically modeled as predictors of parental stress. Key determinants of parental stress were identified at three levels: (1) at the personal level, internalizing symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, and perinatal negative experiences were related to higher stress; (2) at the relational level, marital satisfaction and coparenting quality were associated with lower stress; and (3) at the contextual level, social support from friends and family served as a protective factor of parental stress, while children's developmental problems served as risk factors. Despite the increasing number of longitudinal studies and the growing inclusion of fathers in research, few studies have focused on participants from social minority groups or from non-Western contexts. These findings may contribute to the development of effective strategies to support families during the early years of parenthood.