The association between parental attributions of misbehavior and parenting practices in caregivers raising children with prenatal alcohol exposure: A mixed-methods study.
Christie L M Petrenko, Mary E Pandolfino, Rachael Roddenbery
PMID 27662038WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of children with prenatal alcohol exposure who saw misbehavior as linked to brain-based difficulties were more likely to plan ahead, adjust routines, and use calming or redirection.
Seeing behavior as willful was associated with harsher punishment and less success.
Key findings
01Caregivers who saw misbehavior as linked to neurodevelopmental disabilities were more likely to use antecedent strategies (r = .65), and attribution uniquely accounted for 31.4% of variance in antecedent strategy use beyond family type.
02Punishment use was not significantly associated with attributions, although the effect was moderate (r = .32), and was associated with higher behavior problem scores (r = .45) and with children without facial features of FAS or pFAS (r = -.50).
03Parenting practices were not significantly associated with parenting efficacy, satisfaction, or stress when other factors were included.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional and correlational, so it cannot show that changing caregiver beliefs causes changes in parenting or child behavior. Quantitative analyses had limited power and could only detect moderate to large effects, so smaller associations may have been missed. No biological parents were included; all caregivers were relatives, foster parents, or adoptive parents. The children were only preschool and early school age, so findings may not apply to older children or adolescents. Families were volunteers able to commit to a long study with stable placement, and income was higher than the regional median, so results may not apply to less stable or lower-income families.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that helping caregivers view misbehavior as neurodevelopmental will reduce punishment or improve parenting feelings. This was a cross-sectional study, and parenting practices were not significantly associated with efficacy, satisfaction, or stress after other factors were considered.