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Saturday, May 9, 2009
Northwest Hall (Chicago Hilton)
10:00 AM
Background: Younger siblings of children with autism (Sibs), themselves at heightened biological risk for autism, are also susceptible to developing social, emotional, and communicative difficulties (e.g., Yirmiya et al., 2006). Parent stress levels, already enhanced due to having an older child with ASD (Fishman et al., 1989), may influence parent/infant interaction and subsequent development of infant joint attention skills (Siller et al., 2002). However, the potential impact of parental stress on younger siblings’ development has yet to be examined.
Objectives: The goals of this study were to: (1) describe the development of joint attention behaviors in Sibs from 12 to 14 months; and (2) identify potential relationships between parental stress and infant joint attention.
Methods: Eighteen infant siblings of older children previously diagnosed with autism (9 males) were videotaped at 12- and 14- months during administration of the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS; Mundy et al., 1996) by a trained experimenter. The ESCS is a semi-structured assessment of children’s nonverbal communication skills and yields a measure of higher level initiating joint attention (IJA) involving eye contact coupled with a conventional gesture (i.e., showing or pointing). At 12 months, primary caregivers completed the Parenting Stress Index (PSI; Abidin, 1983), to assess the level and source of parental stress. Two subscales from the PSI that specifically assess parent/infant interaction were examined here: Reinforces Parent (RE) and Attachment (AT). Based on responses from these subscales, infants were classified as having a caregiver who reported: (a) high stress levels on both subscales (HS-sibs); (b) low stress levels on both subscales (LS-sibs); or (c) mixed stress levels (high scores on one subscale; MS-sibs). Because lower scores on these subscales are suggestive of a stronger parent/infant relationship (Abidin, 1983), LS-sibs were expected to exhibit more IJA bids at 12 and 14 months and the greatest increase in IJA bids across sessions.
Results: Preliminary analyses indicated that at 12 months, IJA behaviors were relatively infrequent in all three groups (MdnLS-sibs = 0.00; MdnMS-sibs = 1.50; MdnHS-sibs = 0.00). Counter to our prediction, HS-sibs exhibited the greatest increase in IJA behaviors from 12 to 14 months and produced roughly three times as many IJA bids as LS- and MS- sibs at the 14-month session (MdnLS-sibs = .667; MdnMS-sibs = 1.00; MdnHS-sibs = 3.00). Furthermore, there were significant positive correlations between 14 month IJA frequency and parent stress levels on both the RE subscale, ρ = .665, p = .036, and the AT subscale, ρ = .660, p = .038.
Conclusions: Together with other research demonstrating variability in IJA skills among Sibs (e.g., Goldberg et al., 2005) these findings suggest that familial factors such as parent/infant interaction patterns may buffer against risk for early communicative delay to produce more positive outcomes. Increased anxiety may serve as a motivating factor for some parents, who may become more active in engaging their child in interactions that support the development of IJA skills, an effect that may be particularly beneficial for at-risk infants.
Objectives: The goals of this study were to: (1) describe the development of joint attention behaviors in Sibs from 12 to 14 months; and (2) identify potential relationships between parental stress and infant joint attention.
Methods: Eighteen infant siblings of older children previously diagnosed with autism (9 males) were videotaped at 12- and 14- months during administration of the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS; Mundy et al., 1996) by a trained experimenter. The ESCS is a semi-structured assessment of children’s nonverbal communication skills and yields a measure of higher level initiating joint attention (IJA) involving eye contact coupled with a conventional gesture (i.e., showing or pointing). At 12 months, primary caregivers completed the Parenting Stress Index (PSI; Abidin, 1983), to assess the level and source of parental stress. Two subscales from the PSI that specifically assess parent/infant interaction were examined here: Reinforces Parent (RE) and Attachment (AT). Based on responses from these subscales, infants were classified as having a caregiver who reported: (a) high stress levels on both subscales (HS-sibs); (b) low stress levels on both subscales (LS-sibs); or (c) mixed stress levels (high scores on one subscale; MS-sibs). Because lower scores on these subscales are suggestive of a stronger parent/infant relationship (Abidin, 1983), LS-sibs were expected to exhibit more IJA bids at 12 and 14 months and the greatest increase in IJA bids across sessions.
Results: Preliminary analyses indicated that at 12 months, IJA behaviors were relatively infrequent in all three groups (MdnLS-sibs = 0.00; MdnMS-sibs = 1.50; MdnHS-sibs = 0.00). Counter to our prediction, HS-sibs exhibited the greatest increase in IJA behaviors from 12 to 14 months and produced roughly three times as many IJA bids as LS- and MS- sibs at the 14-month session (MdnLS-sibs = .667; MdnMS-sibs = 1.00; MdnHS-sibs = 3.00). Furthermore, there were significant positive correlations between 14 month IJA frequency and parent stress levels on both the RE subscale, ρ = .665, p = .036, and the AT subscale, ρ = .660, p = .038.
Conclusions: Together with other research demonstrating variability in IJA skills among Sibs (e.g., Goldberg et al., 2005) these findings suggest that familial factors such as parent/infant interaction patterns may buffer against risk for early communicative delay to produce more positive outcomes. Increased anxiety may serve as a motivating factor for some parents, who may become more active in engaging their child in interactions that support the development of IJA skills, an effect that may be particularly beneficial for at-risk infants.