The association between adaptive functioning and parents’ attributions for children’s emotions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research suggests that adaptive functioning influences parents’ attributions for children’s social behaviours. However, the influence of adaptive functioning on parents’ attributions for children’s emotional expressions is yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between adaptive functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and parents’ attributions for children’s negative emotional expressions. Participants included 68 parents of children with ASD ages 3–11 (Mage = 7.2; SD = 6.82). Parents completed two questionnaires: one measuring adaptive functioning and one measuring parents’ attributions for their children’s emotional expressions. Positive associations were found between: (1) parents’ internal modifiable attributions for overall negative emotions (i.e. fear, anger, sadness aggregate), fear, and anger; (2) parents’ external modifiable attributions for overall negative emotion, fear, and sadness; and (3) parents’ disability-based attributions and fear. Tentatively, these results indicate that attribution retraining may be an important focus for interventions with parents of children with ASD.