Family Confidence Child Functioning and Caregiver Burden in Early Intervention

Background: Enhancing caregivers' confidence and competence in early childhood intervention is a priority, focusing on collaboration between professionals and families to improve family well-being and quality of life. Caregiver burden is crucial in early childhood intervention support services aimed at promoting family well-being and functioning. However, contextual factors and child-related variables may affect caregiver burden. We examined the relationships between family confidence, caregiver burden, and child functioning. Method: A total of 169 Spanish families in early care services participated through an electronic survey. The influence of socio-demographic variables on family confidence and caregiver burden, and the mediating role of family confidence between child functioning and caregiver burden were analyzed using single and multiple mediation analyses. Results: The study found that child functioning does not directly impact caregiver burden but significantly influences it through family confidence. Confidence in helping the child was a relevant mediator of the impact of child functioning on caregiver burden. However, confidence in helping the family was a mediator across all dimensions of caregiver burden. Conclusions: Higher family confidence predicts lower caregiver burden in early childhood intervention. Confidence in helping family functioning is key to mitigating the negative impact of child functioning on caregiver burden.