Predicting maternal parenting stress in middle childhood: the roles of child intellectual status, behaviour problems and social skills

Background Parents of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically report elevated levels of parenting stress, and child behaviour problems are a strong predictor of heightened parenting stress. Interestingly, few studies have examined child characteristics beyond behaviour problems that may also contribute to parenting stress. The present longitudinal study examined the contribution of child social skills to maternal parenting stress across middle childhood, as well as the direction of the relationship between child social skills and parenting stress. Method Families of children with ID (n = 74) or typical development (TD) (n = 115) participated over a 2‐year period. Maternal parenting stress, child behaviour problems and child social skills were assessed at child ages six and eight. Results Child social skills accounted for unique variance in maternal parenting stress above and beyond child intellectual status and child behaviour problems. As the children matured, there was a significant interaction between child social skills and behaviour problems in predicting parenting stress. With respect to the direction of these effects, a cross‐lagged panel analysis indicated that early parenting stress contributed to later social skills difficulties for children, but the path from children's early social skills to later parenting stress was not supported, once child behaviour problems and intellectual status were accounted for. Conclusion When examining parenting stress, child social skills are an important variable to consider, especially in the context of child behaviour problems. Early parenting stress predicted child social skills difficulties over time, highlighting parenting stress as a key target for intervention.     

Brief Report: Relative Effectiveness of Different Home-based Behavioral Approaches to Early Teaching Intervention

The effectiveness of home-based early behavioral interventions for children (2:6–4:0 years old) with autistic spectrum disorders was studied over 9–10 months. Measures of autistic severity, intellectual, educational, and adaptive behavioral functioning were taken. There was no evidence of recovery from autism. High-intensity behavioral approaches (mean 30 h/week) produced greater gains than low-intensity programs (mean 12 h/week). Lovaas- and complete application of behavior analysis to schools approach-type interventions produced largest gains [similar to gains produced by longer-term clinic-based applied behavior analysis (ABA) programs]. Within the high-intensity groups, increased temporal input on the program was not associated with increased gains in the children. The results from clinic-based ABA trials were partially replicated on a home-based sample, using children with greater autistic and intellectual impairments.     

Stress and self-perceived parenting behaviors of parents of children with autistic spectrum conditions

The relationships between parenting stress and self-perceived parenting behaviors in 138 parents of children with autistic spectrum conditions were studied over 9–10 months. Apart from perceived communication being attenuated, there were no major areas of self-perceived parenting weakness. Parenting stress closely interacted with self-perceived involvement, communication, and limit setting over time. In parents of young children (below 4), high initial levels of parenting stress resulted in less subsequent self-perceived involvement, and poorer communication, with the child. Good self-perceived initial skills for limit setting resulted in lower levels of parenting stress. These relationships help to explain the impact of parenting stress on child behavior problems, and may be consistent with development of parental adaptive behavioral strategies to deal with extreme stress levels.     

Parenting stress and its relationship to the behavior of children with Joubert syndrome

This study describes the relationship between parenting stress and behavior in children with Joubert syndrome, a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. Parents (N = 43) reported severely impaired child adaptive behaviors. Most children did not show maladaptive behaviors, but a subset of approximately 20% displayed significant problems in areas such as inattention, overactivity, social withdrawal, and atypical behaviors. Mothers (59%) and fathers (40%) reported elevated levels of parenting stress. A hierarchical regression, including demographics, adaptive behavior, and maladaptive behavior, predicted 67% of the variance in mothers' stress and 40% of the variance in fathers' stress. Maladaptive behaviors uniquely contributed to maternal and paternal stress. The child's adaptive behavior level contributed significantly to parenting stress for mothers but not for fathers. Findings provide a better understanding of the impact of child behavior on parents caring for a child with Joubert syndrome.     

Predictors and Course of Daily Living Skills Development in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Self-sufficiency is central to child and family well-being. This report focuses on predictors of adaptive daily living skills (DLS) development in young children with ASD and whether DLS gains predict decreases in parenting stress. Participants were 162 toddlers with ASD and their parents, assessed at 3 annual timepoints. Hierarchical Linear Models showed that age, DQ, and autism symptom severity uniquely predicted initial DLS and DLS growth. Child problem behaviors predicted initial DLS only. DLS was associated with change in parenting stress above and beyond DQ, autism symptom severity, and problem behaviors. Children with lower IQ and more severe symptoms showed slower DLS gains. Given its relation to parenting stress, DLS are an important intervention target in young children with ASD.     

A possible contra-indication for early diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Conditions: Impact on parenting stress

The current study investigated the impact of diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASCs) in children on parenting stress. While there is increasing pressure to provide early diagnosis of ASC, there is a lack of evidence relating to the impact of early diagnosis on the parents. The parents of 85 children with ASC completed measures of their parenting stress, and gave a brief history of their child and their diagnosis. The children were assessed for autistic severity and behavioral functioning. Autistic severity predicted their parents’ first noticing a problem, and the speed of the latter, rather than the child's autistic severity, predicted obtaining an earlier diagnosis. The autistic severity of a child was related directly to parenting stress. However, earlier diagnosis may be detrimental to levels of parenting stress. While parenting stress declined over time from the point at which the parents had first noticed a problem in their child, it failed to change by any significant degree once the diagnosis of ASC had been received. Given this possible contra-indication for early diagnosis of ASC, it warrants caution and further investigation.     

Using Matched Groups to Explore Child Behavior Problems and Maternal Well-Being in Children with Down Syndrome and Autism

Mothers of children with Down syndrome, autism, and mixed etiology intellectual disabilities, matched on child age, gender, and communication skills (n = 19 in each group) completed measures of their child’s adaptive and problem behaviors, their own parenting stress, and positive perceptions of their child. Children with autism were rated as having more problem behaviors and lower levels of social competence than children with Down syndrome and mixed etiology intellectual disabilities. Mothers of children with autism scored lower on positive perceptions of their child, and higher on stress than the other two groups. After selecting closely matched groups, we found several group differences in child behavior but little evidence of group differences in maternal outcomes.     

Are child autism symptoms,developmental level and adaptive function associated with caregiver feelings of wellbeing and efficacy in the parenting role?

BackgroundMany parents of children with autism have low levels of mental wellbeing, which may be related to low self-efficacy in the parenting role. Few studies have investigated the impact that child characteristics such as autism symptoms, development and functioning have on parental wellbeing and self-efficacy. In this study, we investigated associations between parental mental wellbeing, self-efficacy and child measures of behaviour and function, for families participating in the Paediatric Autism Communication Trial-Generalised (PACT-G).MethodParents of children with autism (N = 248, aged 2–11 years) completed self-report measures of mental wellbeing and self-efficacy. We used a range of parent-report and researcher administered assessments of autism symptoms, child development, emotional and behavioural difficulties, language and adaptive skills. Nonparametric tests (Spearman’s correlations) and multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the associations between child characteristics and parent wellbeing and parental self-efficacy.ResultsParent mental wellbeing and self-efficacy were highly related. Results of bivariate analyses showed significant negative associations between parent-reported child autism symptoms and parental self-efficacy. Higher child adaptive behaviour was also associated with better parental-self-efficacy. However, in a multivariate regression model, only high parent reported autism symptoms were associated with lower parental self-efficacy. Parent wellbeing was not related to any feature of the child’s profile.ConclusionThese findings indicate that parent-reported autism symptoms are associated with parental self-efficacy, and that self-efficacy may be an important secondary outcome of interventions for children with autism.     

Social Support,Parenting, and Social Emotional Development in Young Mexican and Dominican American Children

This study focused on social support and its association with child developmental outcomes, indirectly through parenting practices, in families of 4–5 year old Latino children. Data were collected from mothers and teachers of 610 Mexican American (MA) and Dominican American (DA) children. Mothers reported on perceived social support, parenting practices and children’s problem and adaptive behavior functioning at home, and teachers reported on mothers’ parent involvement and children’s problem and adaptive behavior functioning in the classroom. Results showed that support received from family was higher than support received from school networks for both ethnic groups. Moreover, familial support was associated with child behavior, mediated by positive parenting practices, whereas support from school networks was not associated with child outcomes. During early childhood, social support from family members may be an important protective factor that can promote positive behavioral functioning among Latino children.     

The relationship between sources and functions of social support and dimensions of child- and parent-related stress

Background In this longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between the sources and functions of social support and dimensions of child‐ and parent‐related stress for mothers of young children with mild developmental delays. Methods Sixty‐three mothers completed assessments of stress and support at two time points. Results Multiple regression analyses revealed that parenting support during the early childhood period (i.e. advice on problems specific to their child and assistance with child care responsibilities), irrespective of source, consistently predicted most dimensions of parent stress assessed during the early elementary years and contributed unique variance. General support (i.e. primarily emotional support and validation) from various sources had other, less widespread effects on parental stress. Conclusions The multidimensional perspective of the construct of social support that emerged suggested mechanisms mediating the relationship between support and stress and provided a framework for intervention.