Temperament and Adjustment in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Date Issued
2014
Date
2014
Author(s)
Chen, Yunn-Ru
Abstract
Investigating the predictability of temperament on the individual differences of adjustment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may not only help differentiate the construct of temperament and the psychopathology of ASD but also achieve better intervention outcome. The goal of this study was three fold. The first was to identify suitable measure of temperament for ASD children. The second was to explore the predictability of temperament on the individual differences of ASD children’s adjustment in various aspects. The third goal was to investigate whether maternal parenting style would function as a mediator or moderator on the relation between temperament and ASD children’s adjustment.
One hundred and fifty mothers of normal children (3 yr. 0 mo. to 6 yr. 6 mo.) and 50 ASD children (3 yr. 2 mo. to 7 yr. 6 mo. in chronological age) and their mothers participated in this study. Mothers of both groups reported their children’s temperament by filling up the Behavior Style Questionnaire (BSQ) and Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). Mothers in the ASD group also filled up the Temperament Questionnaire for Autism (TQA) that was developed in the current study according to Rothbart’s theory of temperament, the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) that reflects the severity of ASD symptoms, the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) for obtaining information about ASD children’s internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System - Second Edition (ABAS - II) and the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). In addition, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) was conducted individually on ASD children to obtain their IQ score.
Results indicated that there were significant mean differences between the normal and the ASD group on most of the temperament dimensions in BSQ and CBQ. Results of item analysis indicated that not all items and subscales in the BSQ and CBQ manifested acceptable psychometric characteristics for measuring children of ASD. Acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability were obtained after item deletion based on the result of item analysis. The newly developed temperament measurement of TQA revealed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. A series of hierarchical regression analyses for different adjustment indicator yielded that after controlling for symptomatology and IQ scores, a number of the temperament dimensions in BSQ, CBQ, and TQA could still significantly predict the adjustment indicators of parenting stress, internalizing the externalizing behaviors, and adaptive behaviors. This result implied that at least some of the temperament dimensions measured in this study are valuable markers of ASD children’s adjustment and are unique constructs above and beyond the psychopathology of ASD. Maternal parenting style was not a mediator in any of the relation between temperament and ASD children’s adjustment; yet, parenting style was found a significant moderator between temperament and adjustment. Specifically, there is no absolute good or bad style of maternal parenting; ASD children’s adjustment depends on the goodness of fit between temperament and parenting. This study also suggested that enhancing therapists’ and parents’ knowledge about the interaction effect of temperament and parenting on various aspects of adjustment may be a feasible approach in the intervention programs for ASD that encourage parental involvement.
Subjects
自閉症光譜疾患
個別差異
氣質
適應
Type
thesis
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
ntu-103-D94227102-1.pdf
Size
23.54 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):9cb030b2b80e869abc076e390549bc06