A Comparative Study of Distress Tolerance and Emotion Regulation in Mothers of Pre-Term and Full-Term Newborns Hospitalized in Neonatal Wards of Hospitals Affiliated With Tehran University of Medical Sciences

The hospitalization of preterm infants in neonatal and neonatal intensive care units can be a stressful experience for mothers and may affect their ability to tolerate distress and regulate emotions. This study aimed to compare distress tolerance and cognitive emotion regulation between mothers of preterm and full-term infants hospitalized in neonatal units. This cross-sectional comparative study included 200 mothers, comprising 100 mothers of preterm infants and 100 mothers of full-term infants whose infants were hospitalized in neonatal and neonatal intensive care units of hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proportional stratified sampling was used, followed by consecutive recruitment within each hospital. Distress tolerance was assessed using the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), and cognitive emotion regulation was assessed using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Independent-samples t-tests and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to compare the two groups, with delivery type and infant birth weight included as covariates. The two groups differed significantly in delivery type (p = 0.004) and infant birth weight (p = 0.001). Before adjustment, significant differences were observed in the tolerance and appraisal subscales of the DTS; however, after adjustment for delivery type and infant birth weight, no significant difference was found in overall distress tolerance or in the tolerance, absorption, or appraisal subscales. A significant between-group difference remained only in the regulation subscale (p = 0.008), with mothers of preterm infants having higher scores than mothers of full-term infants. For cognitive emotion regulation, ANCOVA showed significant between-group differences in putting into perspective (p = 0.032), self-blame (p = 0.022), other-blame (p = 0.002), and catastrophizing (p = 0.039). After adjustment for delivery type and infant birth weight, overall distress tolerance did not differ significantly between mothers of preterm and full-term infants. Differences were observed in several cognitive emotion-regulation strategies. These findings suggest that specific dimensions of distress tolerance and cognitive emotion regulation, rather than overall distress tolerance, may differ between mothers of preterm and full-term infants.