Date of Graduation
2013
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Parents with intellectual disability are faced with the challenges of parenting as well as with having to deal with cognitive difficulties and limited financial and social supports. Deficits in parenting ability often are associated with poor child outcomes such as developmental delays, mental health concerns, neglect, and disruptive behavior disorders. Parents with intellectual disabilities frequently come under the scrutiny of child protective services for neglect and inadequate parenting and are often overrepresented in child maltreatment proceedings. When given systematic skills training using applied behavior analysis, these parents have been shown to improve a narrow range of basic child care skills. However, outcomes are inconsistent with no prior research on packaged empirically supported treatments that focus on broader parenting styles surrounding nurturance and limit setting. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an example of an empirically supported treatment that incorporates performance-based training to enhance parenting ability. The current study evaluated the utility of PCIT with parents who have an intellectual disability using a multiple baseline design across behaviors. Results were promising in terms of improved use of positive parenting behaviors and consistent discipline. However, limitations related to poor maintenance and generalization along with other contextual factors warrant the need for future research.
Recommended Citation
Chengappa, Karishma, "Efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with Parents with Intellectual Disability." (2013). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 8619.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/8619