Child behavior toward the parent: a factor analysis of mothers' reports of disabled children.
Parent-report checklists for disabled kids load on different factors—compliance and daily skills merge into one 'positive relationship' cluster.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked the mothers of disabled kids to fill out a long behavior checklist.
They ran a factor analysis to see which behaviors clumped together.
Kids had mixed diagnoses like autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy.
What they found
Three clear factors popped out.
One factor was called 'positive relationship' and it mixed compliance with everyday skills like dressing and talking.
This pattern is different from typical kids where compliance and skill usually split into two factors.
How this fits with other research
Higgins et al. (2021) extends this warning. They show high parenting stress makes moms rate problem behaviors even higher.
Takahashi et al. (2023) and Zhang et al. (2023) extend the same idea to Chinese and autism samples. They find mom's view still shapes how we see the child.
Koegel et al. (1992) looks related but is not in conflict. They study conduct-disordered kids and still find compliance as its own trap, just using a different method.
Why it matters
When you give a parent checklist to a mom of a disabled child, expect the scores to clump in unusual ways. Do not assume the same factor labels you use for typical kids will fit. Always cross-check with direct observation or teacher reports before you plan treatment.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study evaluated the generalizability of a parent-child rearing inventory designed for normal children and parents to a group of parents of disabled children. A total of 101 mothers of multihandicapped children completed a questionnaire (Parent Report of Child Behavior) reporting their child's behavior toward them in five areas: Positive Relationship, Detachment, Obedience, Independence, and Control Problems. Factor analysis of these mothers' responses revealed a qualitatively different set of underlying factors as contrasted to the original normative group. For mothers in this study, a positive relationship with their disabled child was contingent upon a combination of compliant behaviors (obeying rules, doing things independently, actively trying to please), all of which are likely associated with general child competence. The disabled child's age, intellectual level, degree of physical impairment, and number of nonhandicapped sibs influenced maternal report of child behavior.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1984 · doi:10.1007/BF02409659