Attributions For Child Behavior Research Articles

Rethinking child behavior: Attribution retraining improves child educators' understanding and response

Adults' explanations for child behavior influence their response and, in turn, how child behavior and development progress. Various social-psychological factors (e.g., cognitive belief structures, developmental expectations) help determine the formation of attributions, which are characterized as largely stable. Nonetheless, research demonstrates that attributions can be restructured via attribution retraining (AR). The following study was the first to examine the impact of an AR intervention embedded within training in child development and traumatic stress response. Of particular interest was the malleability and stability of attributions of child behavior, and their contribution to discipline responses among 114 child educators (e.g., teachers, administrators). Post-training, there was a significant decrease in participants' causal attributions and unsupportive intervention preference and a significant increase in trauma-informed attitudes, largely maintained at one-year follow-up, suggesting that this training intervention offers a feasible and scalable method to integrate child development and trauma-informed care to improve perceptions of child behavior.

Parent attributions and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder knowledge as predictors of specific help-seeking interests.

Many children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not receive appropriate services following diagnosis. Although information about ADHD is widely available and abundant, sometimes conflicting information may impede parent help-seeking. The present study examined parent knowledge of ADHD and attributions of child behavior as predictors of interest in formal and informal help seeking at the point of child evaluation for possible ADHD. Participants (89 caregivers of children ages 5-12) completed a measure of ADHD knowledge, rated attributions of child behavior in response to vignettes depicting ADHD symptoms, and indicated their interest in a range of formal and informal services that could be recommended following the child's evaluation. Parents reported strongest interest in academic services followed by medication, child focused therapy, and informal services (e.g., seeking information about ADHD). Family income, ADHD knowledge and attributions that child behavior will persist over time were associated with all types of help-seeking interest except academic services. Perceptions of child control over behavior predicted greater interest in medication. Findings suggest that increasing parent knowledge of ADHD and exploring parent goals and preferences for treatment may increase service utilization for children following assessment/diagnosis of ADHD.

Caregiver Attributions of Toddlers' Behaviors: A Comparison Between Groups of Children with Differing Developmental Concerns.

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 otherdevelopmental 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 otherdevelopmental 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.

Examining Influences on Problem Recognition and Help-Seeking for Child Externalizing Behaviors Among African American Mothers

Childhood behavior problems are one of the most common clinical referrals. If left untreated, these behaviors can result in detrimental consequences to the child’s development (Wehmeier et al., 2010; Scholtens et al., 2012). Behavior parent training has been identified as first-line treatment for oppositional behavior; however, many racial minority families fail to enroll in behavior parent training. The current study examines maternal help-seeking for children displaying oppositional behavior in hopes to delineate variables that might influence parent training enrollment among African American families. Participants were 112 African American mothers who were provided child behavior vignettes and completed measures assessing factors related to problem recognition, parental attributions, child rearing values, mental health stigmatization, racial identity, and treatment utilization. Results found that when presented with a child displaying clinically significant externalizing child behaviors, slightly more than half of African American mothers recognized clinically significant child behavior problems. Mothers were more likely to engage in behavioral parent training if problematic behavior was recognized. Additionally, mothers’ attributions of child behavior, cultural values, and mental health stigmatization were influential to help seeking. This study supports the importance of considering cultural variables that impact problem recognition and subsequent treatment utilization among African American families.

Psychometric Properties of the Parent Cognition Scale in a Clinical Sample of Parents of Children With Disruptive Behavior

The Parent Cognition Scale (PCS; Snarr, Slep, & Grande, 2009) is a self-report measure of parental attributions of child behavior that has demonstrated validity in community samples. However, its psychometric properties have not been examined in a clinical sample of parents of children with disruptive behavior. Examining the psychometric properties of the PCS in this population is important given research linking parent attribution with childhood disruptive behavior. The present study aimed to: (a) examine the psychometric properties of the PCS in a sample of parents whose children were clinic-referred for disruptive behavior problems; and (b) investigate the concurrent validity of the PCS and its factors using correlations with parent reports of children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties, and parenting skills (i.e., discipline, supervision). A confirmatory factor analysis was run on 225 parents’ responses on the PCS, and revealed that a two-factor structure of the PCS fit the data well. Significant correlations were found between Parent Causal Attributions (Factor 1) and parent-reported parenting difficulties. Child Responsible Attributions (Factor 2) were correlated with elevations in children’s emotion, attention, and conduct difficulties. The results provide information on the utility of the PCS for parents of children with disruptive behavior and its potential clinical relevance.

Predictors of change in mothers' and fathers' parent-child aggression risk.

Parents' cognitive schemas about parenting, personal vulnerabilities, and personal resources may affect their risk of engaging in parent-child aggression (PCA). This longitudinal study examined predictors of change in mothers' and fathers' PCA risk across the transition to parenthood, comparing trajectories of parents evidencing high versus low sociodemographic risk. Potential predictors involved parenting-relevant schemas (consistent with Social Information Processing theory, including approval of PCA, negative attributions of child behavior, and knowledge of nonphysical discipline options), personal vulnerabilities (psychopathology, intimate partner violence, substance use issues), and resources (problem-focused coping, emotion regulation, social support, and partner satisfaction). Results indicated that increases in PCA approval, negative child behavior attributions, and symptoms of psychopathology, as well as decreases in problem-focused coping skills, emotion regulation ability, and partner satisfaction, all significantly predicted changes in mothers' and fathers' PCA risk over time-regardless of risk group status. Notably, increases in intimate partner violence victimization and decreases in social support satisfaction predicted mothers' but not fathers' PCA risk change; moreover, increases in knowledge of nonphysical discipline alternatives or in substance use issues did not predict change in PCA risk for either mothers or fathers. Risk groups differed in PCA risk across all predictors with minimal evidence of differential trajectories. Overall, these findings have important implications for child abuse prevention programs involving both universal and secondary abuse prevention efforts.

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

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.

Characteristics of Parents of Children with ADHD Who Never Attend, Drop Out, and Complete Behavioral Parent Training

Behavioral parent training (BPT) is an evidence-based intervention for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and related disruptive behavior disorders in youth. Although efficacious, dropout from BPT is a notable issue, particular for high-risk families. The literature suggests that parental factors (stress, psychopathology and cognitions) may be particularly important in understanding which parents dropout from BPT. To date, however, limited attention has been given to how these factors may be related to dropout at varying points during BPT. Secondary data analyses from a completed clinical trial of a traditional BPT intervention is presented herein. Forty participants were classified into three groups based on timing of dropout from BPT (enrolled in but never attended BPT; dropped out during BPT, and completed BPT). Parent-level factors (stress, depressive symptoms, parental efficacy, and parental attributions for child behavior) were assessed at baseline and post-treatment (parental perceived barriers to treatment) to determine if these factors were differentially related to dropout group status. Results suggested that parents who never attended BPT were more likely to have lower parental efficacy and greater maladaptive attributions regarding their child compared to parents who dropped out from BPT and those who completed BPT. Moreover, parents perceptions of the relevance of BPT was lower in the never attended group and the dropped out from BPT group compared to the completed BPT group. Results of the study have implications for tailoring engagement strategies focused on parental cognitions throughout the process of BPT, particularly for high-risk families.

Multimethod prediction of child abuse risk in an at-risk sample of male intimate partner violence offenders

The vast majority of research on child abuse potential has concentrated on women demonstrating varying levels of risk of perpetrating physical child abuse. In contrast, the current study considered factors predictive of physical child abuse potential in a group of 70 male intimate partner violence offenders, a group that would represent a likely high risk group. Elements of Social Information Processing theory were evaluated, including pre-existing schemas of empathy, anger, and attitudes approving of parent-child aggression considered as potential moderators of negative attributions of child behavior. To lend methodological rigor, the study also utilized multiple measures and multiple methods, including analog tasks, to predict child abuse risk. Contrary to expectations, findings did not support the role of anger independently predicting child abuse risk in this sample of men. However, preexisting beliefs approving of parent-child aggression, lower empathy, and more negative child behavior attributions independently predicted abuse potential; in addition, greater anger, poorer empathy, and more favorable attitudes toward parent-child aggression also exacerbated men’s negative child attributions to further elevate their child abuse risk. Future work is encouraged to consider how factors commonly considered in women parallel or diverge from those observed to elevate child abuse risk in men of varying levels of risk.

Mothers’ Attributions for Positive and Negative Child Behavior: Associations With Mothers’ ADHD Symptoms

Objective: Previous research has shown that parent attributions for child behavior have important implications on the parent–child relationship. The current study investigates whether mothers’ level of ADHD symptoms is associated with their child-responsibility attributions for positive and negative child behavior. Method: Seventy-nine mothers of 6- to 11-year-old boys participated in this online study. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing their attributions, their ADHD symptoms, and their child’s behavior. Results: All mothers offered more child-responsibility attributions for positive behaviors than for negative behaviors. However, mothers with greater levels of ADHD symptoms did this to a lesser extent, blaming their child relatively more for negative behavior and giving their child relatively less credit for positive behavior. Conclusion: This is the first study demonstrating the association between mothers’ ADHD symptoms and child-responsibility attributions. It is possible that these relatively more negative attributions could be underlying some of the parenting difficulties reported by parents with ADHD.

Predicting Maternal Physical Child Abuse Risk Beyond Distress and Social Support: Additive Role of Cognitive Processes

Although personal vulnerabilities, such as distress, have been identified as factors that elevate physical child abuse risk, relatively less literature has clarified the added contribution of parents’ maladaptive cognitive processes that can theoretically impact a parent’s physical discipline decisions and abuse risk. Moreover, the existing literature has been dominated by the use of single measures of hypothesized predictors and parental abuse risk to investigate their association. Indeed, measures of such predictors often evidence considerable conceptual or item overlap with the measure of the intended dependent variable of physical abuse risk, which could artificially magnify observed associations. Therefore, the current study employed multiple indicators for risk factors while also assessing parental child abuse risk in a number of ways, including the perspective of more than one informant. A sample of 95 mothers reported on their distress and social support as well as on the cognitive processes of empathic ability and negative attributions of child behavior whereas children reported on their parents’ positive and negative parenting. Results indicated that, beyond the major role of distress, mothers’ social support buffered the relation between distress and abuse risk, and low empathy and negative child attributions further exacerbated maternal abuse risk. Findings are discussed in terms of the need for continued research on such therapeutically meaningful cognitive processes capitalizing on more comprehensive assessment approaches for the variables of interest that can be applied to child abuse prevention efforts.

Cognitions of Black Mothers Who Adopted Black Children From the Public Foster Care System

Black adoptive mothers’ cognitions were examined within a social cognitive framework to understand relations of perceptions of parent-child relationship quality with perceived parent control, beliefs about adopted children, and attributions for child behavior. Seventy-one adoptive mothers participated. Mothers who believed that their children were more similar to than different from non-adopted children and mothers with less conflict-promoting attributions about their children's misbehaviors were likely to report more positive relationships with their children. Also, mothers’ demographics were analyzed. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

Parenting Cognitions and Treatment Beliefs as Predictors of Experience Using Behavioral Parenting Strategies in Families of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

We tested a model of mothers' parenting efficacy and attributions for child ADHD behaviors as predictors of experiences with behavioral treatment. The model proposed that mothers' beliefs regarding the acceptability and effectiveness of behavioral strategies would intervene between mothers' cognitions about parenting and child behavior and their treatment experiences. Participants were 101 mothers of 5- to 10-year-old children (82% male) with ADHD. Mothers reported their parenting efficacy and attributions for child behavior, and then received a single session of treatment teaching 2 behavior management strategies. Then, mothers reported their beliefs regarding the acceptability and effectiveness of these strategies. A follow-up phone interview 1 week later assessed mothers' experiences in using the behavioral strategies. The overall model fit the data. Attributions of child ADHD behavior as more pervasive, enduring, and within the child's control were related to seeing behavioral treatment as more acceptable, but neither attributions nor treatment acceptability predicted treatment experience. However, mothers with higher parenting efficacy viewed the behavioral strategies as more likely to be effective, and this pathway significantly predicted positive treatment experience. Implications for understanding the variables that contribute to parental decision-making and treatment participation for childhood ADHD are considered.

Pathways Triple P‐Positive Parenting Program: Effects on Parent‐Child Relationships and Child Behavior Problems

This study examined the effects of Pathways Triple P (PTP), an early intervention program designed to promote positive parent-child relationships. Sixty parents met the inclusion criteria of borderline to clinically significant relationship disturbance and child emotional and behavioral problems. They were randomly allocated into PTP or a wait-list (WL) control group. PTP was delivered in a group format for 9 weeks and consisted of parent skills training and cognitive behavior therapy targeting negative attributions for child behavior. Significant intervention effects were found for improving parent-child relationships and reducing behavior problems with gains maintained at 3-month follow-up. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.

Maternal attributions and child oppositional behavior: A longitudinal study of boys with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The authors examined changes over a 1-year period in mothers' attributions for child behavior and child oppositional behavior among 53 mothers and nonproblem sons and 44 mothers and sons with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Boys averaged 8 years of age (SD = 11 months) at Time 1. Families were primarily of European Canadian cultural background and most were middle to upper middle class. Initial levels of child oppositionality did not predict changes in mothers' attributions over time. However, initial levels of mothers' attributions of oppositional child behavior to internal, stable, and global causes positively predicted child oppositional behavior, controlling for ADHD versus nonproblem status and the child's initial level of oppositional behavior. Although initial levels of overreactive and nonresponsive parenting also positively predicted child oppositional behavior, the contribution of mothers' attributions remained significant even with parenting variables controlled. Results suggest that mothers' attributions of child oppositional behavior to internal, stable, and global causes may contribute to maintenance of child problems over time and that these parenting cognitions have importance as intervention targets.

Cognitive processes associated with child neglect

Objective To compare neglectful and non-neglectful mothers on information processing tasks related to child emotions, behaviors, the caregiving relationship, and recall of child-related information. Method A natural group design was used. Neglectful mothers ( N = 34) were chosen from active, chronic caseloads; non-neglectful comparison mothers ( N = 33) were obtained from community agencies serving families. Participants were administered the IFEEL Picture task to assess maternal perceptions of infant emotions, eight vignettes of young children's behavior to assess attributions for child behavior across different scenarios, and a passage recall task to assess information processing problems. A measure of depression was used as a covariate to control for this variable. Results Neglectful mothers were significantly less likely to recognize infants’ feelings of interest, more likely to see sadness and shame, more inaccurate at labeling infants’ emotions, and had a more limited emotion vocabulary. They also made more internal and stable attributions for children's behaviors in situations where it was not clear whether a child was at risk of harm, and had poor recall of information. Depressive symptoms had little effect on these findings with the exception of information recall. Conclusions Neglectful mothers show significant problems in information processing concerning their child's emotions and behaviors, which may affect their childrearing behavior. Cognitive-behavioral interventions to improve parents’ abilities to recognize their child's emotions and to address maladaptive attributions may be of value.

Mothers’ and Fathers’ Attributions and Beliefs in Families of Girls and Boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study examined parent and child gender effects on parents' attributions and beliefs in regards to child symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants included mothers and fathers of 19 girls and 17 boys with ADHD. Groups of boys and girls, aged 5-13 years, were equated on age and medication status, as well as ADHD symptom severity. These groups also were similar in the severity of comorbid oppositional behaviors and internalizing problems, as well as a variety of demographic characteristics. Parents' attributions for child behavior were assessed in response to written scenarios describing either hyperactive/impulsive or inattentive symptoms of ADHD. Parents also completed a questionnaire assessing beliefs and knowledge about ADHD. There were no child gender effects for parents' attributions or beliefs. All parents attributed inattentive symptoms to more internal, global and stable causes than impulsive symptoms. Mothers attributed both inattentive and impulsive child symptoms to more global and stable causes than did fathers. Fathers, but not mothers, reported more negative reactions to ADHD symptoms that were perceived as having an internal cause. Finally, mothers scored higher on beliefs in behavior management than did fathers, and fathers believed more in psychological causes and treatments for ADHD. Possible explanations for and implications of these results are explored.

Mothers' Attributions for Behavior in Nonproblem Boys, Boys With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Boys With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Behavior

This study compared attributions for child behavior among mothers of 38 nonproblem boys, 26 boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 25 boys with ADHD and oppositional defiant (OD) behavior. Boys ranged from 7 to 10 years of age. To capture different aspects of mothers' attributions, 2 assessment methods were employed: (a) ratings of the internality, controllability, globality, and stability of causes for written descriptions of child behavior and (b) coding of the types of causal attributions that mothers provided in vivo while watching their own child's behavior. In response to the written descriptions of child behavior, mothers of boys with ADHD/OD rated the causes of oppositional and inattentive-impulsive child behaviors as more stable and global than did mothers of nonproblem boys. In identifying causes of their own child's failure on lab tasks, mothers of boys with ADHD/OD provided more child-negative attributional causes than did mothers of either ADHD only or nonproblem boys. Implications for assessing and understanding attributions in families of children with ADHD and OD are discussed.

The Importance of Parental Attributions in Families of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Presents a social-cognitive model outlining the role of parental attributions for child behavior in parent-child interactions. Examples of studies providing evidence for the basic model are presented, with particular reference to applications of the model in families of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or oppositional defiant/conduct disordered behavior. Parent or child factors that may moderate the operation of links within the model are suggested, and evidence of such moderator effects is presented. The conceptualization and measurement of parental attributions also are discussed. The limitations of the model and existing evidence, as well as recommendations for future research in this area are presented throughout the paper. The paper concludes with a summary of the clinical implications of the model and research on parental attributions with regards to improving interventions for families of children with attentional and disruptive behavior problems.

Parent and Child Attributions for Child Behavior: Distinguishing Factors for Engagement and Outcome

Attribution theory (e.g., Gotlib & Abramson, 1999) was used to inform this process-based research on the spontaneous attributions children and parents make to explain children's appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Attribution patterns from 29 transcribed 1st sessions of solution-focused therapy were found to relate to treatment dropout and good and poor outcome. In addition, children made many more attributions for positive behavior than did parents, who made many more attributions for children's negative behavior. Implications of this study for social work practice are explored.