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Relations between Parenting Stress, Parenting Style, and Child Executive Functioning for Children with ADHD or Autism

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Journal of Child and Family Studies
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Relations among parenting stress, parenting style, and child executive functioning for children with disabilities are not easily teased apart. The current study explored these relations among 82 children and adolescents age 7–18: 21 with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 33 with autism spectrum disorder, and 28 typically developing. Results indicated that children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder had more executive functioning deficits, and their parents reported more parenting stress and a greater use of permissive parenting, compared to typically developing children. In general, increased parenting stress was associated with greater use of authoritarian and permissive parenting styles, as well as more problems with behavior regulation for children. Authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were associated with poorer child executive functioning. Child diagnostic group (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, typically developing) moderated relations between parent stress and child functioning, and between parenting style and child functioning. Implications for intervention with families of children with disabilities are discussed.
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J Child Fam Stud (2016) 25:36443656
DOI 10.1007/s10826-016-0518-2
ORIGINAL PAPER
Relations between Parenting Stress, Parenting Style, and Child
Executive Functioning for Children with ADHD or Autism
Lindsey Hutchison
1
Michael Feder
2
Beau Abar
3
Adam Winsler
4
Published online: 30 August 2016
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract Relations among parenting stress, parenting style,
and child executive functioning for children with disabilities
are not easily teased apart. The current study explored these
relations among 82 children and adolescents age 718: 21
with attention decit/hyperactivity disorder, 33 with autism
spectrum disorder, and 28 typically developing. Results
indicated that children with attention decit/hyperactivity
disorder or autism spectrum disorder had more executive
functioning decits, and their parents reported more par-
enting stress and a greater use of permissive parenting,
compared to typically developing children. In general,
increased parenting stress was associated with greater use of
authoritarian and permissive parenting styles, as well as
more problems with behavior regulation for children.
Authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were asso-
ciated with poorer child executive functioning. Child
diagnostic group (attention decit/hyperactivity disorder,
autism spectrum disorder, typically developing) moderated
relations between parent stress and child functioning, and
between parenting style and child functioning. Implications
for intervention with families of children with disabilities
are discussed.
Keywords Parenting stress Parenting style ADHD
Autism Executive functioning ASD
Introduction
Raising a child with special needs is a unique experience for
parents. They may nd their lives greatly altered by the
addition of a child into the family who requires extra-
ordinary time and attention. While all parents experience
stress while raising children, most parents also experience
an increase in self-efcacy and a decrease in stress as time
goes by, improvements that may not be observed for parents
of children with disabilities (Deater-Deckard 2004). Indeed,
a large body of prior research indicates that parents of a
child with a disability experience elevated parenting stress
compared to parents of typically developing children
(Dabrowska and Pisula 2010; Vitanza and Guarnaccia
1999; Woolfson and Grant 2006). There are many char-
acteristics of children with disabilities that may cause stress
for families (e.g., poor social or language skills, odd
behavior or appearance, developmental delays), as well as
broader contextual factors (e.g., limited social support,
disagreements with spouse or grandparents, difculty
obtaining appropriate medical/educational resources) that
might be stressful for parents of a child with a disability
(Derguy et al. 2016). However, much research attention has
focused on the parenting stress linked in particular with
childrens behavior problems, self-regulatory skills, and
executive functioning (EF).
Self-regulation is a key component of EF (i.e., higher-
order thinking skills, such as the ability to control, plan/
organize, initiate, and monitor ones own behavior; Gioia
et al. 2000). Although children with a variety of disabilities
may have some degree of behavioral problems, attention
decit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum
disorder (ASD), in particular, are two disabilities that fea-
ture particularly strong, if not denitional, decits in EF
(Barkley 1997; Winsler et al. 2007). Researchers have often
*Adam Winsler
awinsler@gmu.edu
1
Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, 22030 VA, USA
2
Battelle Education, Arlington, VA, USA
3
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
4
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
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... Initially categorized by Baumrind (1971), parenting styles have undergone refinement and elaboration in literature over time (e.g. Hutchison et al., 2016): (a) Permissive parenting-Parents tend to accommodate all their children's requests and grant them with excessive autonomy with minimal supervision. They establish few boundaries, impose limited expectations, and offer unconditional support, acceptance and involvement (b) Authoritarian parenting-Involves imposing high demands on children, enforcing strict rules, supervision, and expecting complete obedience. ...
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Book
All parents experience stress as they attempt to meet the challenges of caring for their children. This comprehensive book examines the causes and consequences of parenting distress, drawing on a wide array of findings in current empirical research. The author explores normal and pathological parenting stress, the influences of parents on their children as well as children on their parents, and the effects of biological and environmental factors. Beginning with an overview of theories of stress and coping, he goes on to describe how parenting stress is linked with problems in adult and child health (emotional problems, developmental disorders, illness); parental behaviors (warmth, harsh discipline); and factors outside the family (marital quality, work roles, cultural influences). The book concludes with a useful review of coping strategies and interventions that alleviate parenting stress.