Laurie M. Jeans

A Longitudinal Examination of Father Involvement With Children With Developmental Delays Does Timing of Diagnosis Matter

With a representative sample of U.S. children born in 2001, growth curve modeling was used to investigate the association between father—child involvement and the developmental status of the child. Three groups of children, which varied by timing of developmental delay diagnosis, were compared for father involvement trajectories. These groups of children were compared with each other as well as to a group of children without developmental delays. Group comparisons indicate many more similarities than differences, and implications for service providers are discussed.

Examining ECLS-B: Maternal Stress and Depressive Symptoms when Raising Children with ASD.

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative data set, we examined the extent to which mothers of preschool children with and without the diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) reported stress and depressive symptoms prior to and following diagnosis of ASD. At 4 years, approximately 100 children were parent-identified as diagnosed with ASD. Mothers of children with ASD at 9 months and 4 years had significantly higher incidence of depressive symptoms and stress than mothers of typically developing children. Mothers of children with ASD experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms than mothers of children with disabilities, but the difference was not statistically significant. Using linear regression, a within-group comparison of depressive symptoms of mothers of children with ASD indicated no differences based on child gender, ethnicity, number of children in the family, or partnership status. Implications are presented.

Early Predictors of ASD in Young Children Using a Nationally Representative Data Set

Current clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) occurs between 3 and 4 years of age, but increasing evidence indicates that intervention begun earlier may improve outcomes. Using secondary analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort data set, the current study identifies early predictors prior to the diagnosis of ASD at 4 years for approximately 100 children. Children with ASD were compared with children with other disabilities and children who were typically developing. Multinomial logistic regression analyses identified limited unique characteristics (e.g., self-regulation and sleep patterns) at the 9-month time point. A majority of the differences in communication and language, mental/cognitive function, motor function, social interaction, and self-regulation were found at the 2-year time point. Implications for research and practice are presented.

Immersing Students in the Culture of Disability Through Service Learning

This article provides a description of service learning implemented in an introductory special education course focused on the culture of disability. Collaborating with liaisons from five community service organizations, students provided services to individuals with disabilities in a variety of projects across two semesters. Communication and collaboration at all phases of the project were essential to ensuring that service learning was salient to the organization and meaningful to the students. The students presented a final report about their service-learning project and individually submitted a paper reflecting on their experience. Pre- and post-ratings of students’ perspectives of the culture of disability were gathered. Students reported increased knowledge related to course content, and all participants reported satisfaction with the projects. Strategies that proved successful in assisting students accomplish their project goals are discussed. Recommendations for the use of service learning in personnel preparation of future special educators are presented.

The role of multiple-group measurement invariance in family psychology research.

Measurement invariance (MI) is a property of measurement that is often implicitly assumed, but in many cases, not tested. When the assumption of MI is tested, it generally involves determining if the measurement holds longitudinally or cross-culturally. A growing literature shows that other groupings can, and should, be considered as well. Additionally, it is noted that the standard techniques for investigating MI have been focused almost exclusively on the case of 2 groups, with very little work on the case of more than 2 groups, even though the need for such techniques is apparent in many fields of research. This paper introduces and illustrates a model building technique to investigating MI for more than 2 groups. This technique is an extension of the already-existing hierarchy for testing MI introduced by Meredith (1993). An example using data on father involvement in 5 different groups of families of children with and without developmental disabilities from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort dataset will be given. We show that without considering the possible differential functioning of the measurements on multiple developmental groups, the differences present between the groups in terms of the measurements may be obscured. This could lead to incorrect conclusions.

Perspectives of roles during parent–child interactions of Filipino immigrant mothers

The purpose of this study is to examine the perspectives of Filipino immigrant mothers regarding the roles and focus of their interactions with their infants and toddlers. Qualitative procedures were used to analyse transcripts from structured, open‐ended interviews with 24 mothers of 10‐ to 36‐month‐old children. Statements of mothers were organised into three themes, within which several subthemes were identified.

Father Involvement in Early Intervention: Exploring the Gap Between Service Providers’ Perceptions and Practices:

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine early intervention (EI) service providers’ perceptions of the roles played by fathers in services, as well as their perceptions of the barriers that limit fathers from being engaged in the services provided for families of children with disabilities. A total of 511 EI service providers participated in an online survey. Findings revealed a significant gap between EI providers’ perceptions of the impact fathers can have on their children with disabilities and their perceptions of how useful it is to target fathers for involvement in EI services. In addition, several barriers were identified by participants that limit their ability to successfully engage fathers in the services they provide to their children and families. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future training needs of EI providers.

The Developmental Benefits of Parent-Child Interaction: Perspectives of Filipino Mothers of Children With and Without Disabilities

ABSTRACT In this article, the authors explored mothers’ descriptions of the benefits of interacting with their infants and toddlers with and without diagnosed disabilities. Interview data from 40 Filipino mothers, 20 mothers of children with a diagnosed disability, and 20 mothers of typically developing children were analyzed. Using qualitative methods, the authors identified several themes of child benefits that emerged from the data: (1) develop child’s competence, (2) develop child’s confidence, (3) strengthen child’s bonds with his or her mother and other caregivers, (4) promote the development and expression of child’s unique personality, and (5) support child’s moral and spiritual growth. These themes are described and illustrated for children with and without disabilities, and similarities and differences are noted. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.