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Caregiver Attributions of Toddlers’ Behaviors: A Comparison Between Groups of Children with Differing Developmental Concerns

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Abstract

Little is known about the attributional patterns of caregivers of autistic children, particularly in relation to caregivers of children with other developmental or behavioral disorders. This study examined differences in caregiver attributions of child behavior between three groups: toddlers with (1) Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or ASD concerns; (2) Other developmental concerns; and (3) No concerns. Qualitative descriptions of actual child behaviors were coded using a three-stage content analysis. Regression analyses were utilized to determine if group membership predicted types of positive and challenging behaviors caregivers endorsed, as well as their attributions of these behaviors. Caregivers of children with ASD or ASD concerns endorsed similar types of behaviors, but rated their child’s positive behaviors as less characteristic of their child and more a function of the particular situation, less stable or permanent, and less controllable as compared to caregivers of toddlers with other developmental or no concerns. Additionally, they rated their child’s challenging behaviors as more stable or permanent and less controllable as compared to caregivers of toddlers with other developmental concerns or no concerns. These findings suggest that caregivers of children with ASD and ASD related concerns may be vulnerable to a negative attributional pattern, which can have important implications for child and family functioning and overall quality of life.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the children, providers, practices, and agencies who participated in this study. We also thank Roya Baharloo and Allycen Kurup for their initial assistance on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

Funding

The author(s) disclose receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the National Institute for Mental Health [R01 MH104302].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Daina M. Tagavi, Hannah R. Benavidez, Carlyn C. Perryman & Wendy L. Stone

  2. Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Taylor C. Kalmus

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  1. Daina M. Tagavi
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  2. Hannah R. Benavidez
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  3. Taylor C. Kalmus
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Contributions

Conceptualization: DMT, HRB, TCK, CCP, WLS; methodology: DMT, TCK, WLS; formal analysis: DMT, TCK; qualitative coding: DMT, TCK, CCP; writing—original draft preparation: DMT, HRB; writing—review and editing: DMT, HRB, TCK, CCP, WLS; funding acquisition: WLS. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Daina M. Tagavi.

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Because our sample contains non-parent caregivers in addition to parents, we will refer to both parents and caregivers as “caregivers” throughout the manuscript.

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Tagavi, D.M., Benavidez, H.R., Kalmus, T.C. et al. Caregiver Attributions of Toddlers’ Behaviors: A Comparison Between Groups of Children with Differing Developmental Concerns. J Autism Dev Disord 54, 983–996 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05879-3

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