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Tagavi DM, Benavidez HR, Kalmus TC, Perryman CC, Stone WL. Caregiver Attributions of Toddlers' Behaviors: A Comparison Between Groups of Children with Differing Developmental Concerns. J Autism Dev Disord 2024; 54:983-996. [PMID: 36572798 PMCID: PMC10291009 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05879-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about the attributional patterns of caregivers of autistic children, particularly in relation to caregivers of children with other developmental or behavioral disorders. This study examined differences in caregiver attributions of child behavior between three groups: toddlers with (1) Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or ASD concerns; (2) Other developmental concerns; and (3) No concerns. Qualitative descriptions of actual child behaviors were coded using a three-stage content analysis. Regression analyses were utilized to determine if group membership predicted types of positive and challenging behaviors caregivers endorsed, as well as their attributions of these behaviors. Caregivers of children with ASD or ASD concerns endorsed similar types of behaviors, but rated their child's positive behaviors as less characteristic of their child and more a function of the particular situation, less stable or permanent, and less controllable as compared to caregivers of toddlers with other developmental or no concerns. Additionally, they rated their child's challenging behaviors as more stable or permanent and less controllable as compared to caregivers of toddlers with other developmental concerns or no concerns. These findings suggest that caregivers of children with ASD and ASD related concerns may be vulnerable to a negative attributional pattern, which can have important implications for child and family functioning and overall quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daina M Tagavi
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - Hannah R Benavidez
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Taylor C Kalmus
- Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Carlyn C Perryman
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Wendy L Stone
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
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2
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Dedousis-Wallace A, Drysdale SAO, McAloon J, Murrihy RC, Greene RW, Ollendick TH. Predictors and Moderators Two Treatments of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Children. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL FOR THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, DIVISION 53 2022:1-16. [PMID: 36227170 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2022.2127102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine predictors and moderators of behavioral improvement in children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) following treatment with Parent Management Training (PMT) and Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS). Initial problem severity, inconsistent discipline, parental attributions of child misbehavior, and child lagging cognitive skills were examined. METHOD One hundred and forty-five children aged between 7 and 14 (103 males, M = 8.88 years, ethnicity representative of the wider Australian population) were randomly assigned to PMT and CPS. Assessment was conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and at 6-month follow-up, using independently rated semi-structured diagnostic interviews and parent-ratings of ODD symptoms. Using an intent-to-treat sample in this secondary analysis (Murrihy et al., 2022), linear regressions and PROCESS (Hayes, 2017) were used to examine these predictors and possible moderators of treatment. RESULTS Higher pre-treatment levels of conduct problems, lagging skills, and inconsistent discipline predicted poorer behavioral outcomes following both treatments. The only characteristic that moderated treatment outcome was child-responsible attributions - mothers who were more likely to attribute their child's problematic behaviors to factors in the child had significantly poorer outcomes in PMT than CPS at 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS CPS may be a more beneficial treatment than PMT for families who have been identified as having higher levels of child-responsible attributions before commencing treatment for ODD. While tentative, this provides promising insights as to how treatment outcomes for children with ODD may be improved.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - John McAloon
- Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney
| | | | - Ross W Greene
- The Kidman Centre, University of Technology Sydney
- Child Study Centre, Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
| | - Thomas H Ollendick
- The Kidman Centre, University of Technology Sydney
- Child Study Centre, Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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3
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PCIT engagement and persistence among child welfare-involved families: Associations with harsh parenting, physiological reactivity, and social cognitive processes at intake. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 34:1618-1635. [PMID: 33766186 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Parent-Child interaction therapy (PCIT) has been shown to improve positive, responsive parenting and lower risk for child maltreatment (CM), including among families who are already involved in the child welfare system. However, higher risk families show higher rates of treatment attrition, limiting effectiveness. In N = 120 child welfare families randomized to PCIT, we tested behavioral and physiological markers of parent self-regulation and socio-cognitive processes assessed at pre-intervention as predictors of retention in PCIT. Results of multinomial logistic regressions indicate that parents who declined treatment displayed more negative parenting, greater perceptions of child responsibility and control in adult-child transactions, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) increases to a positive dyadic interaction task, and RSA withdrawal to a challenging, dyadic toy clean-up task. Increased odds of dropout during PCIT's child-directed interaction phase were associated with greater parent attentional bias to angry facial cues on an emotional go/no-go task. Hostile attributions about one's child predicted risk for dropout during the parent-directed interaction phase, and readiness for change scores predicted higher odds of treatment completion. Implications for intervening with child welfare-involved families are discussed along with study limitations.
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Kil H, Aitken M, Henry S, Hoxha O, Rodak T, Bennett K, Andrade BF. Transdiagnostic Associations Among Parental Causal Locus Attributions, Child Behavior and Psychosocial Treatment Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2021; 24:267-293. [PMID: 33598852 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-020-00341-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Parents' interpretations of the cause of their children's behavior, i.e., parental attributions, are linked to parenting behavior and child development. However, it is not yet known whether parental attributions are systematically associated with children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms and behavior or psychosocial treatment engagement and outcomes across diagnostic categories. This systematic review aimed to fill this knowledge gap using a transdiagnostic perspective to synthesize the literature on the associations between parent-causal and child-responsible attributions and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior, treatment engagement, and treatment outcomes for parents and children. A total of 67 studies were identified. Overall, biased child-responsible attributions were associated with elevated child internalizing and externalizing symptoms and behavior across diagnoses, while findings on the association between parent-causal attributions and child behavior were inconsistent. The link between parental attributions and treatment engagement was also mixed, varying across treatment type, child diagnosis, and focus of attributions. Regarding treatment outcomes, less biased parent-causal and child-responsible attributions were linked to post-treatment improvements in children's behaviors, while mixed findings were reported on post-treatment improvements in parental attributions. Findings are discussed with a focus on approaches to enhance the effectiveness of assessment and psychosocial treatment approaches across diagnostic categories with consideration of parental attributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hali Kil
- McCain Centre for Child Youth and Family Mental Health, Child Youth and Emerging Adult Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Madison Aitken
- McCain Centre for Child Youth and Family Mental Health, Child Youth and Emerging Adult Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Shanelle Henry
- McCain Centre for Child Youth and Family Mental Health, Child Youth and Emerging Adult Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ortenc Hoxha
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Terri Rodak
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Library, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Kathryn Bennett
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (Formerly Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics), McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Brendan F Andrade
- McCain Centre for Child Youth and Family Mental Health, Child Youth and Emerging Adult Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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5
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Ursano AM. The Therapeutic Alliance in Children and Parents. Psychiatry 2021; 84:127-130. [PMID: 34293281 DOI: 10.1080/00332747.2021.1932393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Asbrand J, Foltys L, Ebeling L, Tuschen-Caffier B. Übereinstimmung zwischen Eltern und Kind zur kindlichen Psychopathologie und deren Bedeutung für den Therapieerfolg. VERHALTENSTHERAPIE 2020. [DOI: 10.1159/000511095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
<b><i>Hintergrund:</i></b> Symptome psychischer Störungen werden von Kindern und Jugendlichen häufig anders als von den Eltern eingeschätzt. Als Einflussfaktoren für diese Urteilsdiskrepanzen im externalisierenden und internalisierenden Symptombereich werden kindliches Geschlecht und Alter untersucht. Zudem wird der prädiktive Wert der Diskrepanz für den wahrgenommenen Therapieerfolg analysiert. <b><i>Methode:</i></b> Kinder und Jugendliche (<i>n</i> = 271, 10–21 Jahre) in ambulanter Psychotherapie sowie Eltern gaben Auskunft über den Youth Self Report (YSR) und die Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL). <b><i>Ergebnisse:</i></b> Neben einer grundsätzlich guten Übereinstimmung zwischen Eltern und Kind berichten Eltern über mehr psychische Symptome als die davon betroffenen Kinder. Mit zunehmendem Alter steigt die von den Kindern selbstberichtete externalisierende Symptomatik an. Mädchen geben mehr internalisierende Symptome als Jungen an. Ein hoher elterlicher Baselinewert (prä-Therapie) zur kindlichen externalisierenden Symptomatik sagt einen höheren Elternbericht nach Abschluss der Psychotherapie des Kindes vorher. Kinder berichten nach der Psychotherapie mehr Symptome, wenn Uneinigkeit zwischen Eltern und Kindern bezüglich der internalisierenden Symptomatik prä-Therapie besteht sowie eine hohe kindberichtete externalisierende bzw. elternberichtete internalisierende Symptomatik berichtet wird. <b><i>Schlussfolgerung:</i></b> Insgesamt zeigen sich einzelne Faktoren prädiktiv für die Symptomatik post-Therapie, jedoch die Eltern-Kind Urteilsdiskrepanz nur in geringem Maß. Beeinflussende Faktoren wie Alter und Geschlecht sollten in zukünftigen Studien standardmäßig aufgenommen werden.
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Doi S, Isumi A, Fujiwara T. The Association between Parental Involvement Behavior and Self-Esteem among Adolescents Living in Poverty: Results from the K-CHILD Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E6277. [PMID: 32872279 PMCID: PMC7504259 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17176277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
It is not yet known why some adolescents living in poverty show high self-esteem, while others do not. Parental involvement may be an important determinant to promote self-esteem among adolescents living in poverty. The aim of this study is to explore better parenting involvement behavior to promote self-esteem among adolescents living in poverty. Participants included fifth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade students living in Koichi prefecture, Japan. The participants were part of the Kochi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (K-CHILD) study, in 2016 (n = 10,784). Participants completed a questionnaire with questions about socioeconomic status and 14 parental involvement behaviors, including 9 specific kinds of parental interactions with their child (e.g., talking about school life), and 5 elements related to parental care for their child's physical health (e.g., access to health care). The numbers of parental involvement behaviors, parental interactions with their child, and parental care for their child's physical health were treated as continuous and quartile, to see the association. Overall, the study showed that the larger the number of parental involvement behaviors, the higher the self-esteem score of their off-spring (p < 0.01) among both adolescents living in poverty and not living in poverty, in which interaction between poverty and parental involvement behaviors was not significant. Both parental interaction with their child and parental care for their child's physical health were associated with higher self-esteem, in which parental interaction with their child had a larger effect than parental care for their child's physical health. To empower adolescents in poverty, caregivers need to provide both parental interaction with the child and parental care for the child's physical health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satomi Doi
- Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo 113-8510, Japan; (A.I.); (T.F.)
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
| | - Aya Isumi
- Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo 113-8510, Japan; (A.I.); (T.F.)
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
| | - Takeo Fujiwara
- Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo 113-8510, Japan; (A.I.); (T.F.)
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Nekkanti AK, Jeffries R, Scholtes CM, Shimomaeda L, DeBow K, Norman Wells J, Lyons ER, Giuliano RJ, Gutierrez FJ, Woodlee KX, Funderburk BW, Skowron EA. Study Protocol: The Coaching Alternative Parenting Strategies (CAPS) Study of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy in Child Welfare Families. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:839. [PMID: 33101068 PMCID: PMC7495141 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Child maltreatment (CM) constitutes a serious public health problem in the United States with parents implicated in a majority of physical abuse and neglect cases. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an intensive intervention for CM families that uses innovative "bug-in-ear" coaching to improve parenting and child outcomes, and reduce CM recidivism; however, the mechanisms underlying its effects are little understood. The Coaching Alternative Parenting Strategies (CAPS) study aims to clarify the behavioral, neural, and physiological mechanisms of action in PCIT that support positive changes in parenting, improve parent and child self-regulation and social perceptions, and reduce CM in child welfare-involved families. METHODS The CAPS study includes 204 child welfare-involved parent-child dyads recruited from Oregon Department of Human Services to participate in a randomized controlled trial of PCIT versus a services-as-usual control condition (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02684903). Children ages 3-8 years at study entry and their parents complete a pre-treatment assessment prior to randomization and a post-treatment assessment 9-12 months post study entry. Dyads randomized to PCIT complete an additional, abbreviated assessment at mid-treatment. Each assessment includes individual and joint measures of parents' and children's cardiac physiology at rest, during experimental tasks, and in recovery; observational coding of parent-child interactions; and individual electroencephalogram (EEG) sessions including attentional and cognitive control tasks. In addition, parents and children complete an emotion regulation task and parents report on their own and their child's adverse childhood experiences and socio-cognitive processes, while children complete a cognitive screen and a behavioral measure of inhibitory control. Parents and children also provide anthropometric measures of allostatic load and 4-5 whole blood spots to assess inflammation and immune markers. CM recidivism is assessed for all study families at 6-month follow-up. Post-treatment and follow-up assessments are currently underway. DISCUSSION Knowledge gained from this study will clarify PCIT effects on neurobehavioral target mechanisms of change in predicting CM risk reduction, positive, responsive parenting, and children's outcomes. This knowledge can help to guide efforts to tailor and adapt PCIT to vary in dosage and cost on the basis of individual differences in CM-risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akhila K Nekkanti
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
| | - Rose Jeffries
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
| | - Carolyn M Scholtes
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
| | - Lisa Shimomaeda
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Kathleen DeBow
- Center for Excellence, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Jessica Norman Wells
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
| | - Emma R Lyons
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
| | - Ryan J Giuliano
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Felicia J Gutierrez
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
| | - Kyndl X Woodlee
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
| | - Beverly W Funderburk
- Department of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, United States
| | - Elizabeth A Skowron
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.,Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
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Sawrikar V, Hawes DJ, Moul C, Dadds MR. How Do Mothers' Parental Attributions Affect Child Outcomes from a Positive Parenting Intervention? A Mediation Study. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2020; 51:597-608. [PMID: 31732895 PMCID: PMC7347688 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-019-00942-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Problematic parental attributions refer to negative causal explanations for child problem behaviour and are known to predict parenting intervention outcomes. This study examines alternative accounts of how mothers' problematic parental attributions, operationalised as negative pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions during treatment, may affect child behaviour outcomes from a parenting intervention program. Putative mediators included parental feelings about the child and use of harsh discipline. Participants were 163 families with children aged from 3 to 16 referred to specialist clinics for the treatment of conduct problems. Measures were collected as part of pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up assessments. Mothers' pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions were associated with smaller improvements in parental feelings at the end of treatment which in turn were associated with greater use of harsh discipline. Greater use of harsh discipline was associated with greater conduct problems overall. Smaller improvements in parental feelings mediated the effects of pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions on outcomes in mothers' use of harsh discipline and mediated the effects of change resistant parental attributions on outcomes in child conduct problems. Smaller improvements in parental feelings about the child may act as a mechanism that explains the impact of problematic parental attributions on treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vilas Sawrikar
- University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. .,University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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10
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Why is this Happening? A Brief Measure of Parental Attributions Assessing Parents' Intentionality, Permanence, and Dispositional Attributions of Their Child with Conduct Problems. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2019; 50:362-373. [PMID: 30298474 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-018-0844-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
We present and evaluate a new self-report measure of parental attributions developed for assessing child causal and dispositional attributions in parenting interventions. The Parent Attribution Measure (PAM) ascribes attributions along first-order dimensions of intentionality, permanence, likeability, and disposition, and a higher-order Total Scale. The psychometric analyses involved participants drawn from populations of clinical (n = 318) and community-based families (n = 214) who completed questionnaires assessing parental attributions, parenting behaviours, parental depression, parental feelings about the child, and child behavioural problems. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a 3-factor hierarchical structure provided a close fitting model. The model with intentionality, permanence, and disposition (consolidating likeability and disposition) dimensions as first-order factors grouped under a higher-order general factor was validated in independent samples and demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The PAM presents as a brief measure of parental attributions assessing parents' intentionality, permanence, and dispositional attributions of their child with conduct problems.
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11
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Palm SME, Sawrikar V, Schollar-Root O, Moss A, Hawes DJ, Dadds MR. Parents' Spontaneous Attributions about their Problem Child: Associations with Parental Mental Health and Child Conduct Problems. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 47:1455-1466. [PMID: 30929181 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-019-00536-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Parents' attributions about their child's personality and behaviour are known to predict the quality of parent-child interactions and outcomes for the child, including those from parenting interventions. Nothing is known, however, about the quantity and quality of attributions parents use during free speech about their children referred for treatment of behavioural and emotional problems. We tested hypotheses about the types of attributions and associations among parental attributions, parental psychopathology and child conduct problems, using 504 five-minute speech samples (FMSS) coded using the Parent Attribution Speech Sample (PASS) coding system. Both mothers and fathers talked about their thoughts and feelings regarding their children with disruptive behaviour problems (N = 295; 74% male; 3-8 years old). The assessment of spontaneous parental attributions via the PASS coding system was shown to be valid and reliable. Mothers made more negative, dispositional attributions than fathers, however, parents of either gender made, on average, more positive than negative attributions about their children. Parents' natural attributions about these children with emotional and behavioural problems were rather independent from parents' own mental health, but were consistently related to child factors. Specifically, across parent gender and across all attribution dimensions, levels of callous-unemotional traits were associated with spontaneous parental attributions above and beyond other child and parent factors. Overall, the results show that parents' spontaneous speech about referred children contains important information about their causal attributions, and that these are associated with child temperament rather than specific referral symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia M E Palm
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2050, Australia
| | - Vilas Sawrikar
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2050, Australia.
| | | | - Alicia Moss
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2050, Australia
| | - David J Hawes
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2050, Australia
| | - Mark R Dadds
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2050, Australia
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12
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Sawrikar V, Hawes DJ, Moul C, Dadds MR. The role of parental attributions in predicting parenting intervention outcomes in the treatment of child conduct problems. Behav Res Ther 2018; 111:64-71. [PMID: 30317063 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parent attributions about the causes of their children's behaviour problems are a known predictor of problematic parenting and ongoing child problems. However, their importance in parenting interventions remains unknown as research has not addressed whether parental attributions predict outcomes associated with parenting training. The current study examined whether problematic pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions during treatment uniquely predict child behaviour outcomes. METHOD Participants were 250 families with children aged from 3 to 16 referred to specialist clinics for the treatment of conduct problems. Measures of family demographic information, parental attributions, and severity of child conduct problems were collected as part of pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up assessments. RESULTS Linear regression showed that mothers' pre-treatment parental attributions uniquely predicted severity of conduct problems at the post-treatment and 3-month follow-up assessments. Fathers' pre-treatment parental attributions uniquely predicted severity of conduct problems at the 3-month follow-up assessment. Reductions in problematic pre-treatment parental attributions were recorded at post-treatment for both parents. However, smaller reductions or increases in mothers' problematic attributions uniquely predicted worse child behaviour outcomes, a result not replicated for fathers. CONCLUSIONS Findings that pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions predict poorer child behaviour outcomes after controlling for other predictors and treatment effects recommend that parental attributions should be assessed prior to and after treatment and possibly included in treatment to maximise treatment gains for children with conduct problems.
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What Role for Parental Attributions in Parenting Interventions for Child Conduct Problems? Advances from Research into Practice. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2017; 21:41-56. [DOI: 10.1007/s10567-017-0243-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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