Do maternal attributions play a role in the acceptability of behavioural interventions for problem behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders?

Abstract

The present study explored the relationship between parental attributions and treatment acceptability of behavioural interventions for problem behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).Mothers of children with ASD aged 3 to 9 years (N = 139) completed survey measures that assessed demographics, parental attributions, treatment acceptability of parent-focused and child-focused behavioural interventions, severity of their child's disruptive behaviour, and severity of their child's ASD symptoms. The results showed that parental attributions of parent-referent stability, but not the other attributional dimensions, negatively predicted treatment acceptability of a parent-focused behavioural intervention, even when severity of disruptive behaviour was statistically controlled.Conversely, no associations were found between any attributional dimension and treatment acceptability of a child-focused behavioural intervention. Preliminary analyses also revealed that mothers' ratings of the severity of their child's disruptive behaviour were significantly negatively associated with the acceptability of both parent-focused and child-focused behavioural interventions.The findings have potential implications for professionals to identify and challenge distorted attributions of parent-referent stability to promote parental acceptance of a parent-focused behavioural intervention for problem behaviour in children with ASD.Keywords: treatment acceptability, attributions, behavioural intervention, problem behaviour, autism Do maternal attributions play a role in the acceptability of behavioural interventions for problem behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders?

Treatment Acceptability for Interventions Addressing Challenging Behavior Among Chinese Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Within the literature on challenging behavior and treatment acceptability, severity of child's challenging behaviors has been proposed as a crucial predictor (Carter, 2007(Carter, , 2010; however, findings of its influence on treatment acceptability have been inconsistent. Several studies did not find an association between challenging behavior and treatment acceptability; that is, severity of feeding disorders did not affect acceptability of interventions for food refusal (Vazquez, Fryling, & Hernández, 2019), nor did severity of externalizing behavior influence acceptability of parentfocused interventions (Choi & Kovshoff, 2013;Ho et al, 2012). In contrast, other studies found a positive relationship between severity of challenging behavior and acceptability of punishment-based procedures such as time-out, which indicates more severe challenging behavior was associated with higher acceptability of intrusive treatments (Reimers, Wacker, Cooper, & Deraad, 1992;Tingstorm, 1990).…”

The impact of caregiver treatment satisfaction upon child and parent outcomes

“…Negative perceptions of providers and treatment (e.g. mistrust of mental health professionals, concerns about violations in confidentiality; Contractor et al., ; McKay & Bannon, ), the perceived relevance and helpfulness of therapeutic approaches (Eapen & Ghubash, ; Kazdin, Holland, Crowley, & Breton, ; Morrissey‐Kane & Prinz, ; Nock & Kazdin, ) and their acceptability (Choi & Kovshoff, ; Stevens, Kelleher, Ward‐Estes, & Hayes, ), are powerful drivers of service utilization and underuse. Expectancies such as the perceived usefulness of treatment (Graf, Grumm, Hein, & Fingerle, ) and its acceptability (MacKenzie, Fite, & Bates, ) are also associated with child treatment outcomes, including reductions in child problem behaviors, although this literature is considerably thinner than the association between these factors and engagement in care.…”

Parental sleep quality and behavior problems of children with autism

“…Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with a host of clinically significant co-occurring behavior problems (e.g. inattention and anxious affect), in addition to impairments in social communication, restricted/repetitive interests and behaviors, and sensory sensitivities (Choi and Kovshoff, 2013; Hartley et al, 2008). These behavior problems are particularly stressful on parents and are strong predictors of psychological well-being for both mothers and fathers (Hartley et al, 2012; Lecavalier et al, 2006).…”