Infant Effortful Control Mediates Relations Between Nondirective Parenting and Internalising-Related Child Behaviours in an Autism-Enriched Infant Cohort

C U M Smith ,Sam Wass ,Greg Pasco ,Mark H Johnson ,E J H Jones,Tony Charman ,Ming Wai Wan

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05219-x

Abstract

Internalising problems are common within Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); early intervention to support those with emerging signs may be warranted. One promising signal lies in how individual differences in temperament are shaped by parenting. Our longitudinal study of infants with and without an older sibling with ASD investigated how parenting associates with infant behavioural inhibition (8–14 months) and later effortful control (24 months) in relation to 3-year internalising symptoms. Mediation analyses suggest nondirective parenting (8 months) was related to fewer internalising problems through an increase in effortful control. Parenting did not moderate the stable predictive relation of behavioural inhibition on later internalising. We discuss the potential for parenting to strengthen protective factors against internalising in infants from an ASD-enriched cohort.

Highlights

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with two core symptom domains: social interaction and communication difficulties, and restricted and repetitive behaviours in tandem with sensory processing atypicalities (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
The groups at typical likelihood (TL) and elevated likelihood (EL) of developing ASD did not differ in the proportion of girls and were the same age at each visit with the exception of the 24-month timepoint
The EL group scored significantly higher than the typical-likelihood group on the behavioural inhibition scale at 8 months and the effect size was below moderate (η2 = 0.07)

Summary

Introduction

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with two core symptom domains: social interaction and communication difficulties, and restricted and repetitive behaviours in tandem with sensory processing atypicalities (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These core symptoms are often accompanied by additional mental health conditions (Salazar et al, 2015; Simonoff et al, 2008); in particular, internalising-related disorders such as anxiety (van Steensel et al, 2011). Internalising disorders—in particular, anxiety—affect approximately 40% of individuals with ASD, and are often clinically identified in mid-childhood (Davis et al, 2011). Investigation into internalising-related distress within ASD has been identified as a research priority of the autism community (Lord et al, 2020)

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