Authors

Emile Mulder

Type

Text

Type

Dissertation

Advisor

Smith Slep, Amy | Heyman, Richard | Lerner, Matthew | Klein, Daniel | Robinson, John | Magito-McLaughlin, Darlene.

Date

2014-12-01

Keywords

Clinical psychology | Autism, Father, Involvement, Mother, Parent, Social Skills

Department

Department of Clinical Psychology.

Language

en_US

Source

This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77192

Publisher

The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.

Format

application/pdf

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficits in social interaction. Research with ASD children has dramatically underrepresented fathers, who have only recently been considered as targets for parenting interventions and research. Parenting research with typically developing (TD) children has found that parental involvement (of mothers and fathers) is associated with child social development. Extending such findings to the ASD field is important as social development is a primary concern within this population. The present study sought to do so through an internet questionnaire targeting mothers and fathers. Specifically, this study examined associations between mother involvement, father involvement and their interaction with child social skills in families of children with ASD using multilevel modeling in a multi-rater, multi-measure design. We proposed a model in which parental involvement may foster child social development, but also noted child that social skills may encourage or discourage parental involvement. Father, but not mother, involvement (quality) and engagement (time) were each found to significantly and positively predict child social skills in 101 families of children with ASD. Implications of these findings for research and intervention are discussed. | 66 pages

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