Role of mothers’ fear of negative evaluation and perceived parenting competence on early child development: a longitudinal examination from ante- to postnatal period

Fear of negative evaluation (FNE) has been linked to dysfunctional parenting in childhood, but its influence during the perinatal period remains unexplored. The present study investigated whether FNE is longitudinally associated with lower perceived parenting competence and poorer child developmental outcomes as reported by mothers. It was further hypothesized that perceived criticism of one’s parenting would be related to higher levels of FNE and reduced parenting competence. A total of 1,739 pregnant women were recruited through a large internet research panel in Japan. Participants completed online surveys at four time points: during pregnancy and at 4, 26, and 56 weeks postpartum. Complete longitudinal data were available for 768 women. Measures included the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC), and single-item maternal reports of child developmental indicators across regulatory, motor, social, and physical health domains, and perceived criticism. Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) showed a negative trait-level association between BFNE and PSOC (r = –.49, p < .001). Higher prenatal FNE predicted an increased likelihood that the child would require follow-up or specialist referral at the one-month health check. The associations between PSOC and child developmental ratings became strongest by 56 weeks postpartum, as did the relationships between perceived criticism and FNE. These findings suggest that reducing FNE during the early perinatal period may strengthen parenting competence and improve maternal perceptions of child development later in the postpartum period. This study was preregistered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR; ID: UMIN000044079, Date of registration: April 30, 2021). • Fear of negative evaluation was stably linked to lower perceived parenting competence • High fear of negative evaluation and low parenting competence was associated with poorer maternal ratings of child developmental indicators • Perceived criticism was associated with high fear of negative evaluation and low perceived parenting competence • The associations among variables were strongest at 56 weeks postpartum