Effects of contrasting approaches to the response-contingent learning of young children with significant developmental delays on parents’ social-affective behavior

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of the analyses described in this report was to evaluate both the effects of two contrasting approaches to parent-provided child learning opportunities and the direct and indirect effects on both proximal and distal parent social-affective behavior and verbal appraisals. The participants were 71 children with significant developmental delays or multiple disabilities randomly assigned to an intervention that employed practices that either built on existing child behavior (asset-based practices) or focused on teaching children missing or delayed skills (needs-based practices). Findings showed that the asset-based intervention was associated with more parent-provided child learning opportunities and more child response-contingent behaviors, both of which were related to changes in parent proximal and distal social-affective behavior. Results indicated that parent efforts to promote child learning that built on existing child behavior had value-added influences on parents’ sense of competence and psychological well-being manifested in terms of behavior indicators of affective gratification.

Keywords

• Response-contingent learning games
• Asset-based intervention
• Parent social-emotional behavior
• Parental psychological well-being