Parenting Strategies Used by Parents of Children with ASD: Differential Links with Child Problem Behaviour

Here, we explored the structure of the ‘Parenting Strategies Questionnaire’, a new scale designed to measure parenting strategies for problem behaviour in ASD. We then examined links between child behaviour and parenting in a sample of 222 predominantly-UK parents of ASD children exhibiting behaviour found difficult or challenging. Analysis revealed three parenting subscales: Accommodation , Reinforcement Approaches and Reducing Uncertainty . Both Accommodation and Reducing Uncertainty were linked to child problem behaviour. Child factors explained up to 29% of the variance in Accommodation , with Socially Inflexible Non-compliance the strongest predictor, and up to 24% of the variance in Reducing Uncertainty , with Intolerance of Uncertainty the strongest predictor. Child factors were not related to Reinforcement Approaches . Longitudinal studies investigating these relationships are needed.