Spending leisure time together: Parent child relationship in families of children with an intellectual disability.
One steady, fun activity shared by parent and child with ID raises closeness and drops conflict.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Zabidi et al. (2023) asked parents of children with intellectual disability how much time they spend in shared fun.
They also asked how close and how much conflict the parent-child pair felt.
The team then looked at whether more shared fun predicted warmer feelings and fewer fights.
What they found
Parents who put effort into shared leisure felt closer to their kids.
The same parents also reported less day-to-day conflict at home.
The link held even after other family factors were taken into account.
How this fits with other research
King et al. (2013) found kids with ID join fewer sports and skill clubs than peers.
That sounds like bad news, but Sofia’s work shows quality beats quantity.
Even one regular, parent-shared activity can lift closeness even if overall community sport is low.
Yalon-Chamovitz et al. (2008) tried VR leisure games with adults with ID and saw steady joy and engagement.
Together the studies say: pick any enjoyable joint task—VR, board games, backyard catch—and the bond grows.
Why it matters
You can’t force families to sign up for extra clubs, but you can coach them to carve out twenty minutes of shared play.
Ask parents to choose one simple leisure slot they can guard each week.
Track mood or conflict for a month; celebrate small wins.
This low-cost step may cut stress and boost warmth without extra therapy hours.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Relationship quality between a parent and a child typically differs between families with a child with intellectual disability (ID) and families with other children. Parent-child relationship quality matters in ID as it has been linked with child outcomes. However, there are few research studies examining factors that are related to parent-child relationship quality in ID. AIMS: The aim of the present study was to investigate factors associated with parent-child relationship quality in families of children with ID. In particular, we aimed to examine the association between the amount of time parents and children spend together in leisure activities and parent-child relationship quality. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The sample was drawn from the 1000 Families Study, a survey including parent-reported data from families of children with ID aged 4-16 years. Measures of parent-child relationship quality and shared parent-child time were available. OUTCOMES: Regression analyses showed that parental investment in shared leisure time was significantly associated with parent-child closeness and conflict, even after controlling for a number of factors related to relationship quality. Parental psychological distress was also associated with parent-child relationship quality. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Interventions that aim to improve parent-child relationship quality may want to investigate the role of shared parent-child time in leisure activities as one of the mechanisms of change.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104398