The aim of the study was to examine the relation between demographic variables, parental characteristics, and cognitive, language and motor skills development in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). A sample of 89 children with ID, aged 20–47 months, completed the Bayley Scales of Infant Development to measure cognitive, motor, and linguistic development. Parents were administered questionnaires about demographic information and parental anxiety, depression, parental stress, conjugality and familial functioning. Parenting behaviors (affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching) were observed using the Spanish version of PICCOLO (Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes). A bivariate analysis showed that cognitive development in infants was significantly related to the mother’s and father’s responsiveness, and to the father’s teaching scores. Infant language development was related to a variety of maternal factors (educational level, anxiety, depression, maternal responsiveness) and to the father’s teaching scores. None of the factors were statistically related to child motor development. A multivariate regression analysis indicated that children’s cognitive development can be predicted by a linear combination of maternal responsiveness and paternal teaching scores. Language development can be predicted by a linear combination of maternal anxiety and responsiveness, and paternal teaching scores. The present study provides evidence of the importance of paternal involvement for cognitive and language development in children with intellectual disabilities, and contributes to the increasing literature about fathering. Gaining knowledge about parental contributions to children’s development is relevant for improving positive parenting in early intervention programs.

Background/Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO; Roggman et al., 2013a ). This observational measure is composed of 29 items that assess the quality of four domains of parenting interactions that promote child development: affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching. Methods: The sample included 203 mother-child dyads who had been video-recorded playing together. Fifty-six percent of the children were male, and 44% were female, aged from 10 to 47 months. Video-recorded observations were rated using PICCOLO items. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported that the instrument has four first-order factors corresponding to the hypothesized domains of parenting behaviors, and a second-order factor corresponding to a general factor of positive parenting. Construct validation evidence was compiled by examining the relationship between PICCOLO scores and child age. As expected, teaching domain and total PICCOLO scores were positively correlated with child age. The Spanish PICCOLO also demonstrated good inter-rater reliability (ranging from 0.69 to 0.84) and internal consistency reliability (ranging from 0.59 to 0.88) for the four domain scores and the total parenting score. Concurrent criterion-related validity was examined via correlations between parenting scores and child cognitive, language and motor skills outcomes, measured using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the PICCOLO meets the criteria for a reliable and valid observational measurement of parenting interactions with children. The psychometric properties of the instrument make it appropriate for general research purposes, but also for program evaluation of Early Intervention and other parenting-support interventions. This measure, focused on parent strengths, could be used to facilitate family-centered practices in early intervention and other programs that have parenting as an outcome.

In Spanish families, parent-child relationships play a crucial role, but they also present specific risks for the children’s transition to adulthood which may hinder their individuation and foster the creation of dysfunctional family patterns in their family of origin. In Spain there is a lack of instruments to assess parent-child relationships in these terms. The present study examines the psychometric properties of a battery to assess individuation with mother, individuation with father, and the existence of dysfunctional family patterns (DFP) in 535 young Spanish adults (20–31 years). Items from the Munich Individuation Test of Adolescence ( Walper, 1998 ), the Network of Relationships Inventory ( Furman & Buhrmester, 1985 ), the Filial Responsibility Scale ( Jurkovic & Thirkield, 1999 ), and the Feeling Caught Between Parents and Parental Pressure scales ( Walper & Schwarz, 2001 ) have been used. The initial structure obtained through exploratory factor analysis underwent a confirmatory factor analysis. The results hint at a model adjusted to the data which guarantees the construct validity of the proposed structure. Internal consistencies for scales and subscales were acceptable to excellent, with α ranging from .62 to .91. Different indices of concurrent validity were also analyzed. The results generally support the reliability and validity of the new instrument. Limitations are discussed.

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