Improving the lives of children with neurodisabilities: Does parenting matter?

Objective: Parents of children with neurodisabilities are sometimes characterized as overprotective and anxious, thereby thwarting their child’s independence and quality of life (QofL). The objective of this study is to... [ view full abstract ]

Objective: Parents of children with neurodisabilities are sometimes characterized as overprotective and anxious, thereby thwarting their child’s independence and quality of life (QofL). The objective of this study is to examine how parent mood, quality of the co-parenting relationship, and parenting behaviour impact the QofL of these children.

Method: A cross-sectional database of a clinical study, Parenting Matters!, contains information on a convenience sample of n=263 parents of children (ages 4 - 12) with various neurodevelopmental diagnoses (i.e. autism, global developmental delay). We examined a model predicting QofL using demographic, disability-related, parent health, co-parenting relationship and parenting variables. All variables were evaluated using parent-report and standardized measures; 3 separate regression analyses were conducted using 'belonging', 'becoming' and 'being' dimensions of QofL.

Results: All models were significant, predicting 35.9%, 21.6% and 17.4% of variance in QofL. Being female, having a lower income, having a child with lower complexity of functional impairments, having epilepsy, having better parent physical health, and parenting in a manner that reflects having comfort with separation from one’s child were associated with more positive parent evaluations of who their child was ‘becoming’. Lower income was associated with more positive parent evaluation of their child’s ‘belonging’. Lower income, lower complexity of functional impairments, lower depressive symptom scores and parenting in a manner that promoted child autonomy were associated with better parent evaluations of their child’s ‘being’. All predictors were significant at p<0.05.

Conclusions: Parent income and their perception of their health and parenting behaviours have an impact on how they evaluate their child’s quality of life. Assessment and intervention efforts should target these important areas of practice with families who are raising a child with a neurodisability.