Family Stress, Coparenting, and Infant Development among Immigrant Arab-American Families

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Approximately 3.7 million Arabs live in the United States; however, they are largely absent from research on child health and development. Family stress due to immigration may be associated with negative infant outcomes and poorer development. In contrast, family resources may relate to better infant outcomes. Coparenting, defined as the way that parents coordinate and support each other in their parental roles, also associated with infant outcomes. However, no published research has investigated the associations of migration-related family stress, family resources, and coparenting with infant outcomes among immigrant families. The purpose of this study is to examine the associations among family stress, family resources, coparenting and infant outcomes among immigrant Arab American families. We aim to: 1) Examine the associations of family stress, family resources, and coparenting with infant stress (hair cortisol, salivary telomere length); and 2) Examine the associations of family stress, family resources, and coparenting with infant development. Using a cross-sectional design, 120 immigrant Arab American families of infants ages 9-12 months will be recruited from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and a pediatrician’s practice. We will focus on the family as the mother-father-infant triad. At a single home visit, families will complete face-to-face interviews (mother and father only), be videotaped for a short coparenting interaction (triad) and have a buccal mucosal sample (for telomere length) and hair (for cortisol) collected (infant only). Family stress, family resources and infant development will incorporate valid and reliable instruments successfully used in prior studies with Arab families and are translated into Arabic language. This study will provide preliminary data for a larger study to examine the associations of family stress and family resources with coparenting and infant outcomes among immigrant Arab American families. Understanding mechanisms through which family stress and family resources influence coparenting and ultimately infant outcomes among immigrant families will guide the development of coparenting interventions to prevent the negative effects of family stress on infant outcomes and the intergenerational transfer of stress and trauma.