Parenting a Child with a Learning Disability: Parent Self-efficacy, Parent Attribution and Parent Perception of Behaviour

Part one: Literature Review

The aim of this review was to summarise and examine the literature on parent self-efficacy in parents of children with learning disabilities. Literature searches identified 9 studies which were included in the review. Due to the diversity of the papers reviewed, a synthesis of the methodological issues and review findings was completed. Despite the methodological weaknesses described in the review, there appears to be a growing body of evidence to suggest a relationship between parent self-efficacy, parent stress and child behaviour in parents of children with learning disabilities.

Part two: Research Report

A correlational design was used to examine the relationships between parent perception of self-efficacy, perception of behaviour and parent attribution in parents of children with learning disabilities. Participants were recruited from specialist schools and via a national learning disability website and a total of 18 parents participated in the study. Correlational analysis revealed a significant correlation between parent self- efficacy and perceived severity of behaviour, particularly hyperactive behaviour, and higher levels of parent self-efficacy were associated with lower levels of child behaviour difficulties. Higher levels of perceived child behaviour difficulty were not associated with attribution of cause of behaviour to the child and attribution of cause of behaviour was not associated with parent self-efficacy. Child emotional difficulties were associated with attribution of the cause of the behaviour to the situation rather than the child and higher perception of child pro-social behaviour was associated with higher levels of belief of child ability to control behaviour. Parents of children presenting with high levels of prosocial behaviours were related to attributions of the cause of behaviour to specific situations.

Part three: Critical Appraisal

An appraisal of the research process was undertaken. This included personal reflections, challenges of completing the research, learning points and recommendations for future research.

Part four: Service Evaluation

A mixed methods design was utilised to evaluate the efficacy of an intensive support service with one family (a pilot). The evaluation consisted of two parts. Part 1 aimed to evaluate child behaviour change, parent perception of ability to understand and manage child difficulties, and attainment of goals identified by the parent prior to the intervention. Part 2 utilised a focus group to capture staff experiences of working within the intensive support team and to elicit team recommendations for future development of the service. The findings from the evaluation did not show a significant change in child behaviour, however, substantial progress was made towards the goals highlighted by the parent prior to the intervention and significant increase in parent perception of self- efficacy was reported. Team experiences of the intensive support service and several recommendations for the future development of the service were summarised and described following the focus group meeting.