Children's Behavioral Adjustment Research Articles

The inequity of education, health and care plan provision for children and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Children and young people (CYP) with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) have significant additional educational needs compared with the general population. In England, the government has established a system of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) to support children with special educational needs and disabilities, but disparities exist between the degree of need and the availability of support. We conducted a prospective UK national cohort study (IMAGINE) of children with rare pathogenic genomic variants, all of which are associated with IDD, to investigate associated neuropsychiatric risk. Subsequently, we obtained information from the UK's National Pupil Database on their educational progress through the state school system. We aimed to identify whether they had received EHCP provision and whether that support was associated with their family's socioeconomic status, region of domicile, ethnicity, sex, primary special educational needs (SEN) type, academic performance and mental health well-being. We recruited 2738 CYP from England into the IMAGINE study between 2014 and 2019. The educational histories of the participants (6-28years old, mean±standard deviation= 14±4years, 56% male) were obtained from the Department for Education's National Pupil Database in 2021. Educational data included attainment scores from the Early Year Foundation Stage (<5years) to key stage 4 (15-16years). Each family was assigned an index of multiple deprivation (IMD) score based on their home address postcode. Parents or carers rated their child's emotional and behavioural adjustment on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The association between receiving an EHCP and the child's IMD score, eligibility for free school meals, English region of domicile, ethnicity, sex, primary SEN type, academic attainment and SDQ score was investigated. In this cohort, 78% of participants had received an EHCP. CYP living in the most deprived IMD deciles were substantially less likely to receive EHCP support than those in the least deprived decile, irrespective of their degree of intellectual developmental disability, academic performance or associated mental health problems. There were no sex differences. Children of Asian heritage were more likely to have been granted an EHCP than White children from equivalent IMD deciles. There were striking regional disparities. Participants living in London were significantly more likely to have been awarded an EHCP than participants living anywhere else in England, regardless of their IMD decile; those in the least deprived decile had almost 100% EHCP provision. This study found evidence for nationwide regional inconsistencies in the awarding of EHCP to CYP with significant intellectual impairments of known genetic aetiology. Disparities in funds available to education authorities could be a contributory factor. EHCP support was potentially influenced by how strongly a parent advocates for their child.

Parental reactions to child negative emotions and child behavioral adjustment: The moderating role of child inhibitory control

According to the heuristic model of emotion socialization by Eisenberg et al., parental reactions to children’s negative emotions (RCNE) have an important role in this socialization process; however, its effects on children’s social-emotional outcomes may be moderated by the children’s temperament. This longitudinal study verified this proposition by testing maternal and paternal RCNE as predictors of preschoolers’ behavioral adjustment and child inhibitory control as a moderator of these associations. Mothers and fathers of 113 Chinese children ( Mage = 57.41 months, SD = 7.16 months) reported on their RCNE and child inhibitory control at Time 1 (T1) and reported on child behavioral adjustment (i.e., externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and prosocial behaviors) both at T1 and 6 months later (Time 2, T2). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that after controlling for child behavioral adjustment at T1, child age, and paternal education level, (a) paternal supportive reactions negatively predicted child externalizing problems and positively predicted child prosocial behaviors, and (b) the associations between parental RCNE and child behavioral adjustment were moderated by child inhibitory control. Specifically, only for children low on inhibitory control, paternal supportive reactions negatively predicted child externalizing problems, and maternal supportive reactions positively predicted child prosocial behaviors.

Household chaos and child problem behaviors: A cross-cultural examination of the mediating and moderating role of mindful parenting.

Household chaos has been shown to adversely associate with children's behavioral adjustment. However, the mechanism underlying the relationship between household chaos and children's behaviors is not yet fully understood. The current study proposes mindful parenting as an important mediating and moderating factor in the relationship between household chaos and child problem behaviors. This study also examines cultural influences in this process, comparing the UK and Türkiye, considering both mothers' and children's perspectives on mindful parenting. Cross-sectional questionnaires were administered to mothers and their children aged 11-16 years in the UK (n = 90; 53.3% girl) and Türkiye (n = 154; 54.5% girl) in 2021. Mother reports of the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, as well as mother and child reports of Mindful Parenting Inventories for Parents (MPIP) and Children (MPIC), were used to assess household chaos, child problem behaviors, and mindful parenting, respectively. Multiple-group path analysis revealed that household chaos was a significant indirect predictor of child problem behaviors via mindful parenting in both countries. Furthermore, simple slopes analysis showed that mindful parenting moderated the link between household chaos and child problem behaviors in the UK. Overall, our study sheds light on the importance of micro- and macro-environmental factors and their interactions in children's adjustment.

Child behavioral problems and parental adjustment: Family, interparental, and parent-child processes as simultaneous mediators.

This study examined the associations of child behavioral problems with parental adjustment and whether family processes mediated such associations. Cross-sectional data were collected from the fathers, mothers, and class teachers of 186 kindergarten-aged children with special educational needs from Hong Kong, China (mean age = 61.6 months, and 136 of them were boys). Using questionnaires, parents reported their children's behavioral problems and their own adjustment and family processes. Meanwhile, class teachers rated children's behavioral problems. Multigroup analyses supported a mediation model that was invariant across fathers and mothers. Controlling for child and family demographic information, child behavioral problems were linked positively to parental depression and negatively to parental life satisfaction. Moreover, the link of child behavioral problems with parental depression was fully mediated by family economic pressures, marital conflict, and parent-child conflict, whereas the link of child behavioral problems with parental life satisfaction was fully mediated by family economic pressures and marital conflict. Theoretically, our findings pointed to the importance of considering multiple family processes in understanding the relationship between child characteristics and parental well-being among families with children with special educational needs. Practically, our findings highlighted the possible utility of equipping fathers and mothers of children with special educational needs with skills to reduce children's problem behaviors, cope with financial hardship, and manage marital and parent-child conflict. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Moment-to-moment within-person associations between maternal autonomy support and child defeat predicting child behavioral adjustment.

This study examines mother-child mutual regulation processes during a challenging puzzle task as predictors of preschoolers' behavioral adjustment 6 months later in a Chinese sample (N = 101, 46 boys, Mage = 57.41 months, SD = 6.58). Mother-child mutual regulation was measured by the moment-to-moment bidirectional within-person associations between maternal autonomy support and child defeat (i.e., expression of frustration, incapacity to complete the task, or giving up). Children whose mother provided more autonomy support after increases of child defeat showed lower levels of externalizing problems 6 months later, and children who showed less defeat after increases of maternal autonomy support showed higher levels of prosocial behaviors 6 months later. These predictive effects were significant after controlling for child behavioral adjustment at the initial time point, and mean levels of mother's autonomy support and child's defeat throughout the task. The mutual regulation processes did not significantly predict child internalizing problems. The findings suggest that the coordinated mother-child mutual regulation patterns in real time may have positive implications for preschoolers' behavioral adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Hot and cool executive function in the development of behavioral problems in grade school.

Despite the well-established link between children's executive function and behavioral adjustment, it remains unclear whether the hot and cool aspects of executive function are uniquely associated with children's behavioral problems. Using longitudinal data spanning in the grade school (N = 1,140), this study aimed to examine whether hot and cool executive function skills may be uniquely related to the development of behavioral problems. Hot and cool executive function skills were measured with tasks, standardized tests, and questionnaires at 54 months and in the first grade, respectively. Internalizing and externalizing problems were evaluated by teachers using questionnaires throughout the grade school. The results indicated that, independent of each other, hot and cool executive function skills were uniquely and negatively related to the development of internalizing and externalizing problems over time at the between-individual level, adjusting for within-individual fluctuations. Moreover, internalizing and externalizing problems were positively related at the between-individual level across the grade school. Findings provide needed evidence to clarify the relations between hot and cool executive function and children's behavioral problems, emphasizing the importance of both aspects of executive function in understanding the development of behavioral problems in school-age children.

Linking school- and classroom-level characteristics to child adjustment: A representative study of children from Hong Kong, China.

The school is one of the most salient developmental contexts for children. However, little is known about the associations linking the school environment to child adjustment in a non-Western context, not to mention the potential processes that may mediate these associations. This study examined the associations of school- and classroom-level characteristics with child adjustment and tested whether these associations were mediated by teacher-child relationship qualities. Cross-sectional data were collected on a representative sample of 1777 children (mean age = 55.14 months; 50% of them were girls) from 100 kindergartens in Hong Kong, China. Using self-reported questionnaires, teachers rated their school-level environments, their classroom chaos, their closeness and conflict with children and children's socioemotional competence and academic ability. Meanwhile, parents rated children's behavioural problems. Multilevel structural equation modelling revealed that the school-level environment and classroom chaos were uniquely associated with children's socioemotional, behavioural and academic adjustment. Moreover, the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child socioemotional and academic adjustment were mediated by teacher-child closeness and conflict, whereas the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child behavioural problems were mediated by teacher-child conflict only. Findings indicated how school- and classroom-level characteristics may be uniquely associated with child adjustment and how teacher-child relationships may be implicated in the underlying mechanism, highlighting the potential utility of targeting school- and classroom-level environments and teacher-child relationships in promoting child development.

Psychosocial outcomes of children born via embryo donation.

What are parents' perceptions of their relationships with and the psychosocial adjustments of their children who are born via embryo donation? Families created through embryo donation have well-adjusted parent-child relationships and reassuring child psychosocial outcomes. Embryo donation is an effective and growing form of third-party reproduction, but there is limited research in this field. Prior studies suggest that families created through gamete donation function well regarding parent-child relationship quality and child behavioral and socioemotional adjustment. This is a cross-sectional survey study with 187 total participants. Parents of children born via embryo donation were recruited nationally by contacting all embryo donation programs registered with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System (SART CORS) as well as medically directed embryo donation or 'embryo adoption' centers. Participants completed three online Qualtrics questionnaires. The first was a survey including 33 questions on demographics, the procurement process, and self-reported obstetric outcomes. Participants also completed two standardized measures assessing children's behavior and parents' adjustment to parenthood: the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ). Scoring of the SDQ and PARQ was totaled and compared to standardized values (SDQ) or previously published results on other forms of gamete donation (PARQ), such as oocyte donation and sperm donation. On the SDQ (n = 46), the average total difficulties scores by age were: 8.2 ± 0.98 for ages 2-4, 7.6 ± 0.93 for ages 5-10, and 3.5 ± 0.77 for ages 11-17; this is compared to the normal reported range of 0-13, which indicates that clinically significant psychosocial problems are unlikely. Across all ages and individual categories (emotional symptoms, conduct problem, hyperactivity, peer problem, prosocial), scores on the SDQ were within the normal ranges. The average PARQ score (n = 70) for all respondents was 27.5 ± 1.18 (range: 24-96), suggesting perceived parental acceptance. Because this study was cross-sectional, it could not capture familial relationships over time. This survey-based study design allows for potential selection bias (parents of well-adjusted children may be more likely to participate). Additionally, the overall sample size is relatively small; however, it remains one of the largest published to date. Another significant limitation to this study is the lack of generalizability: most participants were recruited from private, faith-based, embryo donation programs who are demographically similar. Though embryo donation is an established form of third-party reproduction, it is significantly less robustly studied compared to other forms of gamete donation (oocyte or sperm donation). This study provides a larger data set with a more expanded age range of children compared to the limited number of previously published studies. Furthermore, these findings indicate a high parental disclosure rate with respect to the use of embryo donation which contrasts previous findings. No external funding source was utilized for the completion of this study. No conflicts are disclosed. N/A.

Prosocial and externalizing behaviors in children raised by different-and same-gender parent families: new directions in parenting research.

Limited research focused on the association between parenting practices and children's prosocial and externalizing behaviors comparing same- and different-gender parent families. The present study considered 76 Italian families (73% same-gender and 27% different-gender parent families) with 8-year-old (SD = 2.17; 49% assigned female at birth) children born through assisted reproductive techniques, to explore parenting practices and children's prosocial and externalizing behaviors. We ran a Multiple-group-by-couple Structural Equation Model in which we estimated the predictive role of parenting on children's behaviors, controlling for age, gender, and family socioeconomic status using the Maximum Likelihood estimation. Results showed that both same- and different-gender parent families reported high levels of parental warmth and very low levels of hostility and rejection; regarding children's behaviors, both same- and different-gender parent families reported high levels of prosociality and low levels of externalizing behaviors. In addition, same-gender parents reported significantly higher levels of children's prosociality and parental warmth than different-gender parents. Regarding associations between parenting practices and behaviors, we found a positive association between positive parenting practices and increasing children's prosocial behaviors and decreasing children's externalizing behaviors, in both same- and different-gender families, controlling for family background characteristics. The present study encourages future research to investigate how specific parenting practices can influence behavioral adjustment in children, focusing on same-gender parent families.

Mindfulness-enhanced parenting programmes for improving the psychosocial outcomes of children (0 to 18 years) and their parents.

Mindfulness-enhanced parenting programmes for improving the psychosocial outcomes of children (0 to 18 years) and their parents.

Improving Chinese children's socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills: Impacts of the 3Es Program

Despite the importance of socioemotional competence, few social and emotional learning programs have been developed for and evaluated with non-Western communities. The Early Prevention, Early Identification, and Early Intervention Program is a tiered, school-based program targeting the socioemotional skills of all second-year kindergarten students in Chinese communities with the Little Garden Curriculum and providing additional training to third-year kindergarten students with socioemotional difficulties with the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial, this study examined the impacts of the program on 999 children (mean age in the pretest = 4.25 years; 48 % were girls) from 18 kindergartens from Hong Kong, China. Using kindergartens as clusters, children were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Garden Curriculum (n = 624) or join the wait-list control group (n = 375). Furthermore, children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum but still showed socioemotional difficulties were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Greenhouse Curriculum (n = 87) or join the wait-list control group (n = 50). In other words, the intervention kindergartens used for the evaluation of the Little Garden Curriculum were randomly assigned into a new intervention group or a new wait-list control group for the evaluation of the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. In pre- and posttests, teachers rated children's socioemotional competence and behavioral adjustment, and children completed reading and arithmetic tasks. Results indicated that—controlling for child age, gender, and prior scores—children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum showed better socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills (ten out of 12 outcome variables). Moreover, children who had completed the Little Greenhouse Curriculum showed higher scores on six out of 12 outcome measures. Findings highlighted the utility of using culturally relevant programs to improve the socioemotional competence of Chinese children at both the universal and the indicated levels.

Cultural values, parenting, and child adjustment in China

To examine whether parents' cultural values are related to parenting practices and children's behavioural adjustment, mothers, fathers and children (N = 218) from two cities in China (Jinan and Shanghai) were interviewed when children were, on average, 10 years old. Mothers and fathers reported their endorsement of cultural values (individualism, collectivism, conformity), which were used to separately predict warmth and family obligation expectations reported by each parent, as well as children's report of parental psychological control, rule setting, knowledge solicitation and perceived family obligation expectations. Cross‐informant (parents and child) composites of internalising and externalising behaviours were also obtained. The results showed that maternal individualism positively predicted parents' knowledge solicitation. Parental collectivism positively predicted their own warmth and family obligation expectations. Mothers' conformity positively predicted mothers' family obligation expectations, paternal warmth and children's perception of family obligation, whereas fathers' conformity only positively predicted fathers' family obligation expectations. These effects were largely consistent across regional subsamples, although mothers in Jinan were more collectivistic than mothers in Shanghai, and parents in Shanghai adopted less psychological control and more knowledge solicitation in parenting.

Mothers' depressive symptoms and children's behavioral adjustment: The role of negative parental emotional states.

The contribution of fathers and family dynamics to the deleterious effects of mothers' depressive symptoms on children's behavioral adjustment has been evaluated in this study. Using longitudinal data spanning from toddlerhood to grade school (N = 1,311), this study examined whether negative emotional states in both parents related to mothers' cumulative depressive symptoms during the early years of children were associated with children's later internalizing and externalizing problems in grade school. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to segregate between- and within-individual effects. The results demonstrated that, independent of fathers' depressive symptoms, high levels of maternal cumulative depressive symptoms were positively associated with negative emotional states in both parents over time, which then independently mediated the longitudinal associations between mothers' depressive symptoms and children's subsequent behavioral maladjustment, particularly internalizing problems, at the between-individual trait level. The findings highlight the interdependence of family members from a longitudinal perspective and support the unique contributions of both parents' negative emotional states to better understand children's behavioral adjustment in the context of maternal depressive symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parenting toddlers: Evidences of parental needs from South India.

Quality of childcare can predict a child's emotional and behavioural adjustment throughout the life span. Furthermore, this has major implications for child development and mental health in the long-term. Parents often face major challenges while providing childcare especially during the early years of a child. This paper describes specific parental concerns in raising a toddler from a mental health developmental perspective. The study was conducted in urban Bengaluru, India under an exploratory research design using semi-structured interviews. Ten parents participated in the study. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Four major themes emerged. The first theme was related to the formation of parental beliefs about parenting which identified several sources such as parenting practices witnessed during childhood, childhood experiences and influence of culture, mass or social media. The second theme to emerge was on concerns related to toddlers which parents had difficulties in understanding as well as managing, specially navigating through sleep and feed pattern, identifying developmental needs and making a meaning of toddlers' communication styles and content. The third theme showed parental concerns which consisted of areas such as parental stress, physical exhaustion, lack of time for each other or toddler, lack of information about handling toddlers and absence of validation of parental efforts. The final theme was on their current parenting practices with their toddlers which showcased controlling styles, play time but low on quality, inappropriate responses to toddlers' emotions or behaviours and several culturally practiced measures which were not validated scientifically. The pre-existing belief among parents about parenting and toddlers' specific behaviours influence parenting practices. The understanding of the parental challenges is beneficial in developing an appropriate parenting programme focussing on strengthening psychological capacities of toddlers.

Generous, egalitarian, and competitive social values: An intercultural, intracommunity analysis of preschoolers

Social values orientation (SVO) refers to stable individual differences in the allocation of resources between self and others. In the present study, an intracommunity sample of preschool-age children was administered two economic dictator games, one pitting cooperation against selfishness and the other generosity against egalitarianism. A third game assessed competitiveness against cooperation. Results revealed that Spanish-speaking Latinx children (collectivistic family background) were more likely to make both cooperative choices and generous choices than a combined subsample of English-speaking Latinx, African American and Caucasian children (non-collectivistic background). These findings suggest that generosity rather than egalitarianism underlies the cooperative tendency of children from collectivist backgrounds. As expected, English-speaking Latinx children (mixed background) were highest on competitiveness. Contrary to predictions, neither cultural background, social values, nor their interaction were associated with teacher-rated child behavioral adjustment. Findings support SVO validity for the intracommunity sample but not its usefulness for predicting behavioral adjustment of preschool students.

Compensatory effects of maternal and paternal supportive parenting in early childhood on children's school-age adjustment.

Both maternal and paternal supportive parenting (i.e., sensitivity, warmth, stimulation, and engagement) across early childhood have been found to be associated with multiple domains of children's positive socioemotional functioning. However, few studies have considered how maternal and paternal supportive parenting may interact to impact child development. Thus, the present study assessed direct and moderated longitudinal relations between maternal and paternal supportive parenting in toddlerhood (24 and 36 months, respectively) and fathers' and teachers' reports of children's socioemotional and behavioral adjustment in first grade. Data were drawn from a large, sample of Norwegian parents and children (N = 455, 51% female, 49% male, 10% endorsed financial strain, 75% of fathers and 86% of mothers born in Norway). After controlling for child temperamental activity level and soothability in infancy, path analysis revealed that higher paternal supportive parenting was associated with fewer symptoms of father-reported child hyperactivity/impulsivity in first grade. In addition, a significant interaction between maternal and paternal supportive parenting was evident for three out of the four assessed outcomes (per both father- and teacher-reports): externalizing problems, hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms, and social skills. Simple slope analyses revealed a negative relation between parental supportive parenting and children's externalizing (father-reported) and hyperactivity/impulsivity problems (father- and teacher-reported) when the child's other parent engaged in low levels of supportive parenting. Similarly, paternal supportive parenting was positively associated with children's social skills (father-report) when mothers engaged in low levels of supportive parenting. Results are discussed with implications for including both mothers and fathers in early childhood research, intervention, and social policy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of Parenting Sense of Competence on Emotional and Behavioral Adjustment of Children With Special Education Needs: A Chain Mediating Model

Purpose This study examines the mechanism underlying the effect of parenting sense of competence (PSOC) on the emotional and behavioral adjustment of children with special education needs (SEN). Design/Approach/Methods Convenience sampling method was used and 299 parents of children with SEN were surveyed using questionnaires. Amos 24.0 was used to perform the chain mediation analyses. Findings The results showed that PSOC was positively associated with emotional and behavioral adjustment of children with SEN; parenting satisfaction negatively predicted the total difficulty of children with SEN and parenting efficacy positively affected prosocial behavior. Mediation analysis indicated that PSOC (parenting satisfaction and parenting efficacy) influenced prosocial behavior of children with SEN through parental involvement and the chain mediation effect of parenting stress and parental involvement. Originality/Value This study reveals the different pathways that parenting satisfaction and parenting efficacy—the core dimensions of PSOC—affect the emotional and behavioral adjustment of children with SEN during the transition from kindergarten to primary school.

부모와 자녀가 지각한 양육 특성의 잠재집단에 따른 고등학생의 심리적, 사회적, 행동적 적응 특성 차이

Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify latent profiles of parenting characteristics which were perceived by 11th graders and their parents, and to verify differences in the psychological, social, and behavioral adjustment of children according to the classified types in their 12th grade. Methods 4,553 longitudinal data of 8th (2019) and 9th (2020), Gyeonggi Education Panel Study(GEPS) were used to identify the latent group. In specific, BCH auxiliary variable were used to verify differences among identified latent groups. Results First, the study found six latent classes depend on each of children’s perception and parents’ perception of parenting characteristics. Second, both classes which were identified with low perception of children and average perception of parents and with average perception of children and above average perception of parents reported lower psychological adjustment and growth mildest, but higher delinquency behaviors than other four latent classes. However, classes which were identified with highest perception of both children and parents and with highest perception of children and above high perception of parents reported higher self-esteem, academic self-efficacy, and school adjustment as well as lower academic stress than other four latent classes. Conclusions This study suggests that there is a difference in perception of parenting characteristics between parents and their children, and when parents perceive their parenting characteristics more positively than adolescents, it can negatively affect the social, psychological, and behavioral adaptation characteristics of adolescents.

Parenting Styles, Family Characteristics, and Teacher-Reported Behavioral Outcomes in Kindergarten.

It is well established that parenting influences child behavior at home, but less is known about the associations between parenting and teacher reports of child behavior at school, an environment more distal from the home context. This study investigated the presence of authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved parenting styles (PS) in a community sample of 321 parents with kindergarteners (Mage = 5.45 years) in the Northwestern United States. This study analyzed (1) which PS were present, (2) if PS was associated with family characteristics, (3) if teacher reported behavior problems in spring of children's kindergarten year varied by PS, and (4) whether associations between PS and child behaviors were moderated by parenting stress. Study hypotheses were that PS would be associated with family characteristics, that teacher reported child behaviors would differ by PS, and that parenting stress would moderate the relationship between PS and behavior problems at school. Results indicated all PS were present. Chi-squares and ANOVA's identified that PS were significantly associated with parenting stress and child problem behaviors. ANOVAs determined differences in parenting stress and problem behaviors depending on PS. ANOVAs revealed parenting stress moderated the relation between PS and child problem behavior. Few studies to date have analyzed the presence of all four PS among kindergarteners and the relationship this has with teacher-reported classroom behavioral concerns. This study sought to fill this gap as results have implications for targeted parenting prevention interventions to promote children's social and behavioral adjustment during the transition to elementary school.

Behavioural adjustment of children with intellectual disability and their sibling is associated with their sibling relationship quality.

Understanding sibling relationship quality is important, as it is associated with mental health outcomes in both childhood and adulthood. Arguably, these relationships are even more important for individuals with intellectual disability, as siblings can be important sources of care, support, advocacy and friendship for one another. The intellectual disability field, however, has a tendency to assume that the relationship lacks reciprocity, and that it is the sibling with intellectual disability who affects the sibling, and that this effect is somehow 'negative'. We examined whether the behaviour problems and prosocial behaviour of 500 child sibling pairs, where one child has an intellectual disability, were associated with their sibling relationship quality. Measures included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires and the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire. Family poverty, the gender of both children, birth order and whether the child with intellectual disability had autism or Down syndrome were also included in the analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an adequate model fit for the latent variables measuring sibling relationships. The final structural model found that the prosocial behaviour and internalising problems of the children with intellectual disability, their typically developing siblings' prosocial behaviours and sibling birth order were associated with intimacy-companionship in the sibling relationship. The internalising, externalising and prosocial behaviours of the children with intellectual disability, their siblings' externalising behaviours and sibling birth order were associated with antagonism-quarrelling in the sibling relationship. We found that the behaviours of both the child with intellectual disability and their sibling were associated with both 'positive' and 'negative' dimensions of their sibling relationship. This indicates a bidirectional and reciprocal effect.