Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the association between "hobbies" and parenting stress in mothers of three-year-old children by focusing on the mothers' hobbies.
Method: Anonymous, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to mothers during their children's three-year-old child health examination in City B, A Prefecture. The questionnaire collected information on basic attributes, availability of someone to discuss parenting issues, presence or absence of hobbies and details of the hobbies, and parenting stress. Valid responses from 348 mothers were analyzed using binomial logistic regression analysis with parenting stress as the dependent variable.
Results: The results showed that 64.7% of the mothers were experiencing parenting stress and 71.8% had hobbies. The most common hobby was "outings with the family (children)," followed by "networking and going on outings with friends" and "shopping" in that order. Factors associated with reduced parenting stress of mothers with three-year-old children were having hobbies and a greater number of children. Furthermore, parenting stress was evident in married mothers.
Conclusion: Encouraging mothers raising children to take up hobbies could contribute to reducing parenting stress.
