Mothers’ Parenting Behaviors in Families of School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Observational and Questionnaire Study

Although parents of children with ASD face specific challenges in parenting, only a few studies have empirically investigated parenting behaviors among these parents. The current study examined differences in parenting behaviors between mothers of school-aged children with ASD ( n = 30) and mothers of typically developing children ( n = 39), using both an observational measure and a self-report questionnaire. Results indicated that mothers of children with ASD obtained significantly lower scores on Sensitivity and Provision of structure as measured during the observation. They reported significantly higher scores on Material rewarding and Adapting the environment on the questionnaire. When controlling for parenting stress, the group differences on Sensitivity and Material rewarding did not remain significant.