Abstract
Although parents of children with ASD face specific challenges in parenting, only a few studies have empirically investigated parenting behaviors among these parents. The current study examined differences in parenting behaviors between mothers of school-aged children with ASD (n = 30) and mothers of typically developing children (n = 39), using both an observational measure and a self-report questionnaire. Results indicated that mothers of children with ASD obtained significantly lower scores on Sensitivity and Provision of structure as measured during the observation. They reported significantly higher scores on Material rewarding and Adapting the environment on the questionnaire. When controlling for parenting stress, the group differences on Sensitivity and Material rewarding did not remain significant.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the families who donated their time to participate in this study. This research was funded by grants from the Marguerite-Marie Delacroix Support Fund and the Research Fund KU Leuven, University of Leuven. We would also like to thank Eva Ceulemans for her statistical support.
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This article is part of the doctoral dissertation of the first author.
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Boonen, H., van Esch, L., Lambrechts, G. et al. Mothers’ Parenting Behaviors in Families of School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Observational and Questionnaire Study. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3580–3593 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2506-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2506-6