Do parental attributions affect treatment outcome in a parenting program? An exploration of the effects of parental attributions in an RCT of Stepping Stones Triple P for the ASD population

Abstract

This study was conducted in conjunction with a randomised controlled trial of the parenting program Stepping Stones Triple P for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Fifty-nine families with a child with ASD participated. This study focussed upon the role of parental attributions in predicting treatment outcome. Stepping Stones altered parental attributions such that following participation in Stepping Stones parents were significantly less likely to believe that their child's misbehaviour was caused by factors intrinsic to their child and more likely to believe that their child's ASD-related behaviour may change in the future. Parental attributions before the intervention significantly predicted change in the dysfunctional parenting styles over-reactivity and verbosity throughout the intervention. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of developing a model for the role of parental attributions in predicting treatment outcome.