Autonomy-Supportive Parenting and Pragmatic Communication in Down Syndrome and Typical Development

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Objective: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability, affecting nearly 5,500 infants in the U.S. each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006). Children with DS display communication deficits including poor pragmatic communication. Documented weaknesses include initiation of communication and communicative repairs, elaboration of topics, and use of scaffolding to assist the listener, with relative strengths in staying on topic and storytelling (for review, see Abbeduto, 2008; Roberts et al., 2007). One factor that has been associated with better communication skills in typically developing (TD) children is positive parenting behaviors, including autonomy-supportive parenting (Glascoe & Leew, 2010; Landry et al., 2006; Liew et al., 2014). Autonomy-supportive behaviors support a child’s independence and goals. Despite documented pragmatic communication deficits in DS, and an observed link between autonomy-supportive parenting and communication skills in TD children, no study thus far has examined this relation in children with DS. The current study examines autonomy-supportive parenting in predicting pragmatic communication in children with DS and mental age-matched TD children.
Methods: Preliminary analyses were conducted using data from 10 children with DS (5 F, M = 12.79 years, range = 9 to 16 years) and 10 TD children (5 F, M = 5.50 years, range = 4 to 7 years) matched on mental age using the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test – 2nd edition (KBIT-II; Kaufman & Kaufman, 1990). Data presented here are a part of a larger, previously completed study; thus, final analyses will include an additional 14 parent-child dyads. Autonomy-supportive parenting behaviors were coded by the lead author of the study following procedures described in Whipple and colleagues (2010). Pragmatic communication abilities were assessed through parent report using the Children’s Communication Checklist—Second Edition (CCC-2; Bishop, 2003). A pragmatic composite score was created in line with the Pragmatic Composite-5 (PC-5) in the original CCC (Bishop, 1998) by summing the following scales’ scaled scores: Coherence, Initiation, Scripted Language, Context and Nonverbal Communication.
Results: Despite the fact that participants with DS were significantly older than the TD participants and the groups were matched on mental age, parents of children with DS displayed significantly lower levels of autonomy support (t(18) = 3.40, p = 0.003) than parents of TD children. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the contributions of autonomy supportive behaviors and group to the prediction of pragmatic language skills. While the overall regression model was significant (F(2, 17) = 9.88, p = 0.001, R2 = 0.54), only group (t = 3.31, p = 0.004), but not parent autonomy support (t = 0.25, p > 0.05), significantly predicted pragmatic communication abilities.
Conclusions: Parents of children with DS display lower levels of autonomy support than parents of TD children. Contrary to expectations, autonomy support did not significantly predict pragmatic communication in preliminary analyses using this small sample. The relation between parental autonomy support and pragmatic communication will be explored further with a larger sample in the months ahead.

Authors

• Kelsey Diane Csumitta, Drexel University
  Presenting Author

• Nancy Raitano Lee, Drexel University
  Non-Presenting Author