{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:13:46Z","timestamp":1785420826391,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774915200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Bayerisches Staatsministerium f\u00fcr Familie, Arbeit, und Soziales"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02a7z5917","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Infant regulatory problems (RPs) are at risk of persisting and can contribute to later behavioral difficulties. Parenting stress has been identified as a risk factor associated with child RPs, but its mediating role has rarely been investigated in this context. The aim of the study was (1) to investigate whether RP symptoms were related to subsequent infant RP symptoms\/toddler behavioral and emotional problems (BEPs) between two pediatric check-ups in the first 3 years of life and (2) to investigate the potential role of parenting stress as a partial mediator in the association of infant RPs and subsequent RPs\/BEPs. Methods: Using data from a German cohort study (CoronaBaBY), associations between infant RPs at baseline and RPs\/toddlers BEPs at follow-up (around 8 months later) were analyzed. Parenting stress was included as a mediation variable into the model. Results: In total, 725 parent\u2013child dyads were analyzed. Mean infant age was 5.0 months (SD = 3.4). Elevated RP symptoms at baseline significantly predicted infant RP symptoms and BEPs at follow-up. Parenting stress at baseline significantly predicted feeding problems and BEPs at follow-up. Parenting stress partially mediated the associations between baseline infant RPs and follow-up RPs respectively BEPs in most models. Conclusions: Interventions should consider the partially mediating role of parenting stress, especially for the later development of BEPs. Research should aim to identify additional factors influencing infant regulatory problems and subsequent behavioral difficulties.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13040494","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T09:26:12Z","timestamp":1775121972000},"page":"494","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Infant Regulatory Problems and Subsequent Behavioral Difficulties: The Mediating Role of Parenting Stress"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8190-687X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ina","family":"Nehring","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Social Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany"},{"name":"German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), Partner Site Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Medicine, Pediatrics, HMU Health and Medical University Potsdam, 14471 Potsdam, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daria","family":"Reitmeier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Social Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5359-4760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Friedmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Social Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany"},{"name":"German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), Partner Site Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Volker","family":"Mall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Social Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany"},{"name":"German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), Partner Site Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany"},{"name":"kbo-Kinderzentrum, Heiglhofstrasse 69, 81377 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michaela","family":"Augustin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Social Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany"},{"name":"German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), Partner Site Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"752","DOI":"10.1007\/s00103-023-03717-0","article-title":"Fr\u00fchkindliche psychische St\u00f6rungen: Exzessives Schreien, Schlaf- und F\u00fctterst\u00f6rungen sowie Interventionen am Beispiel des \u201cM\u00fcnchner Modells\u201d","volume":"66","author":"Ziegler","year":"2023","journal-title":"Bundesgesundheitsblatt\u2014Gesundheitsforschung\u2014Gesundheitsschutz"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"574","DOI":"10.1007\/s00112-008-1895-4","article-title":"Schrei-, Schlaf- und F\u00fctterst\u00f6rung","volume":"157","author":"Wurmser","year":"2009","journal-title":"Monatsschrift Kinderheilkd."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"32","article-title":"Regulatory disorders in early childhood. 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