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Research Papers

Contextual influences of parenting behaviors for children with neurodevelopmental disorders: results from a Canadian national survey

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Pages 2222-2233 | Received 26 Oct 2011, Accepted 01 Mar 2012, Published online: 05 Jun 2012
 

Abstract

Purpose: This population-based study examined correlates of three parenting behaviors (positive interactions, consistency, and ineffective parenting) that have been shown to differ in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), with and without externalizing behavior problems (EBPs), as compared to children with neither condition. Method: The sample of children aged 4–11 (N = 14,226) was drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Analyses examined the associations of child, parental, and social context factors with parenting behaviors, and whether they differed by child health group. Results: Child age, family functioning, and social support variables were significant predictors of all three parenting behaviors. Significant interaction effects highlight the importance of the child’s sex, birth order, and support received from community or social service professionals, and that these factors have differential impacts on parenting behaviors depending on the child’s health group. Conclusions: Other Child, parent, and social context factors are associated with parenting behaviors but these associations vary by the child’s health group. Parenting behaviors differ for children with NDDs with and without EBPs. These findings offer important implications for practice and research and point to the importance of considering multiple contexts of influence, as well as their interactions, in understanding differences in parenting behaviors.

Implications for Rehabilitation

  • Our findings have implications for rehabilitation, in particular, for those who provide treatment to children with NDD and behavioral conditions.

  • For practitioners, these findings point towards the importance of an awareness of the impact that a child’s health condition may have on the entire family unit, including parental health, family functioning, and parenting behaviors as well as other child factors.

  • Our results also suggest that support from community professionals can be beneficial for the parenting behaviors of children with health problems, in particular, children with a NDD.

  • Our findings are also relevant to other health care professionals dealing with children with NDD and/or behavior problems and highlight the importance of considering several child characteristics together, not just the child’s health conditions but also child sex and birth order.

Declaration of Interest:: The authors report no conflicts of interest. Funding for this study was provided by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Emerging Team Grant: Children with Disabilities (TWC-94790). The CIHR does not impose any restrictions on free access to or publication of the research data.

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