Factors related to parental therapeutic self-efficacy in a parent-mediated intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder: A mixed methods study.
Check child fit, parent fit, environment, and child response first—when these four line up, parent confidence in telehealth autism training soars.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Higgins et al. (2021) asked what makes parents feel confident when they learn autism skills over Zoom.
They mixed surveys and open questions with families doing a telehealth parent program.
The team looked at child fit, parent fit, home setup, and how the child reacted.
What they found
Parents who felt the tasks matched their child, matched them, and fit their home said, "I can do this."
When kids responded well, parent confidence jumped even higher.
Global self-efficacy scores stayed high from start to finish.
How this fits with other research
Cheong et al. (2026) now show the same telehealth PRT lifts child language and cuts parent stress.
Their RCT gives stronger proof, so it updates the 2021 picture.
Liao et al. (2025) stretch the idea to school-age kids in Taiwan and still see gains.
Bearss et al. (2018) already said telehealth parent training is doable; M et al. add why parents stick with it.
Why it matters
Before you start Zoom coaching, run a quick fit check. Ask: Does this goal suit the child? Does it suit the parent? Is the room quiet? If any box is empty, fix it first. A five-minute setup talk can save weeks of low engagement later.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parental self-efficacy refers to parents' beliefs in their ability to successfully parent their child. Parental self-efficacy plays an important role in family outcomes when a child has autism spectrum disorder. It is important to consider therapeutic self-efficacy, one's feelings of self-efficacy regarding their implementation of an intervention, within parent-mediated interventions. The goal of this mixed methods study was to better understand factors that relate to parents' therapeutic self-efficacy when using a telehealth-based parent-mediated intervention. Participants were 51 parents of children with autism spectrum disorder between 17 and 83 months old. Parents had generally high therapeutic self-efficacy, and global parental self-efficacy was significantly related therapeutic self-efficacy. Parents' written reflections revealed four themes that related to their therapeutic self-efficacy: the importance of a good fit between the child's skills and the intervention, the importance of a good fit between the parent's interaction style and the intervention, environmental factors support intervention use, and the importance of the child's response to the intervention. Several themes differed for parents with higher and lower therapeutic self-efficacy. Findings suggest that global parental self-efficacy plays an important role in parental therapeutic self-efficacy in parent-mediated interventions. To support parents in learning, coaches should ask about the child's skills, parent's interaction style, environmental challenges, and child's response.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2021 · doi:10.1177/1362361320974233