The influence of parent and couple characteristics on parental responsivity during parent-child interactions in families of children with fragile X syndrome

Background

Parents of children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) experience elevated levels of parenting stress due to the challenges associated with raising a child with significant disabilities. Biological mothers of children with FXS are at an increased genetic risk for experiencing mental health challenges. Parental mental health challenges and stress are often associated with reduced marital cohesion and satisfaction, which may spill over and negatively affect the parent-child relationship for both mothers and fathers.

Aim

The current study examined relationships among characteristics of parents, characteristics of couples, and parent behavior (i.e., responsivity and behavior management) during mother-child and father-child dyadic interactions in 23 families of young boys with FXS.

Results

We found that mothers and fathers used similar rates of responsive behaviors, but that fathers used higher rates of behavior management strategies compared to mothers. Parenting stress predicted lower rates of parental responsivity and higher rates of behavior management, but these effects were only marginally significant. Couples satisfaction was not found to contribute to either parental responsivity or behavior management, despite the significant relationship between parenting stress and couples satisfaction.

Conclusion

Overall, this study suggests that reducing parenting stress may lead to more responsive parent-child interactions, and equally so for both mothers and fathers.