Parental Attributions of Control for Child Behaviour and Their Relation to Discipline Practices in Parents of Children with and Without Developmental Delays

Myrthe Jacobs,Lisa Marks Woolfson,Simon C Hunter

doi:10.1007/s10826-017-0676-x

Myrthe Jacobs, Lisa Marks Woolfson + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0676-x

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Abstract

Children with developmental delays (DD) are at risk for developing behavior problems. Research suggests that parents’ causal attributions for child behavior are related to parenting. This study investigated this association in parents of children with DD compared to parents of typically developing (TD) children. It specifically focused on attributions of child control by separating these from attributions of responsibility, blame and intent, and from attributions of parent control and responsibility. Fifty-one parents of children with DD and 69 parents of TD children completed two questionnaires. The Written Analogue Questionnaire measured causal attributions. The Parenting Scale measured dysfunctional discipline practices. Parents of children with DD viewed the child’s role in problematic behavior more positively while also viewing misbehavior as more fixed than parents of TD children. Parents of TD children who viewed their child as more in control over misbehavior used less dysfunctional discipline, but this association was not found for parents of children with DD. The results advance understanding of how parents perceive behavior problems in children with DD and the important role these perceptions play in parental behavior management strategies. More importantly, these perceptions relate to discipline practices differently for parents of children with DD compared to parents of TD children, highlighting that parent interventions should be adapted to the specific needs of parents of children with DD.

Highlights

Children with developmental delays (DD) experience higher rates of behavior problems than children without DD, including hyperactivity, emotional problems and conduct problems (Totsika et al 2011)
Parents of children with DD viewed their child as having less control over, and less responsibility for, problematic behavior, and as acting with less intent and being less to blame than parents of typically developing (TD) children
This supports research showing that parents of children with DD view their child’s behavior relatively positively in terms of child responsibility and control (Chavira et al 2000; Whittingham et al 2008)

Summary

Introduction

Children with developmental delays (DD) experience higher rates of behavior problems than children without DD, including hyperactivity, emotional problems and conduct problems (Totsika et al 2011). Child behavior and parent behavior affect each other, but parent behavior is influenced by parental beliefs (Sameroff and Fiese 2000). One way of examining parental beliefs on child behavior is through a causal attributional model (Miller 1995). Weiner developed the theory by formulating and testing dimensions to which causes for behavior can be ascribed, and by explaining how these attributions cause emotions and behaviors in response to perceived behavior (Weiner 1979, 1980, 1985)

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