TY - JOUR
T1 - The social skills of autistic boys in preschool
T2 - the contributions of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents
AU - Oppenheim, David
AU - Mottes-Peleg, Michal
AU - Hamburger, Lior
AU - Slonim, Michal
AU - Maccabi, Yael
AU - Yirmiya, Nurit
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
PY - 2024/10/17
Y1 - 2024/10/17
N2 - Background: The interactions of typically developing (TD) children within the family context are associated with their social skills in preschool, and the question guiding this study, which focused on boys, was whether the same would be true for autistic children. A specific focus was on the importance of the boys' engagement in triadic, mother–father–child interactions over and above their engagement in dyadic, parent–child interactions. The boys' social skills were assessed concurrently with their family interactions and one year later. Methods: Seventy-five autistic preschooler boys (Age in months: M = 49.45, SD = 11.03) and both of their parents were recruited through treatment centers and social media. The boys' dyadic engagement was assessed from observations of their interactions with their mothers and fathers (separately), and their triadic engagement from an observation of mother–father–child interactions. The boys' social skills in preschool were assessed using a Q-sort completed by observers and teachers and by the Social Responsiveness Questionnaire (SRS) completed by teachers. Results: Controlling for the severity of the boys' symptoms and IQ, their dyadic engagement was associated with the concurrent observer Q-sort and teacher-reported SRS measures, and their triadic engagement did not explain additional variance in these measures. Predicting over one year, dyadic engagement was associated again with the observer Q-sort and teacher SRS measures, while the boys' triadic engagement accounted for additional variance in these measures as well as the teacher Q-sort. Finally, boys' dyadic engagement predicted gains in social skills on the observer Q-sort, and their triadic engagement was predictive of gains in the observer and teacher Q-sort. Conclusions: The engagement that autistic preschool-age boys displayed in the context of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents appears to be transferred to the preschool setting, and triadic interactions are of particular significance.
AB - Background: The interactions of typically developing (TD) children within the family context are associated with their social skills in preschool, and the question guiding this study, which focused on boys, was whether the same would be true for autistic children. A specific focus was on the importance of the boys' engagement in triadic, mother–father–child interactions over and above their engagement in dyadic, parent–child interactions. The boys' social skills were assessed concurrently with their family interactions and one year later. Methods: Seventy-five autistic preschooler boys (Age in months: M = 49.45, SD = 11.03) and both of their parents were recruited through treatment centers and social media. The boys' dyadic engagement was assessed from observations of their interactions with their mothers and fathers (separately), and their triadic engagement from an observation of mother–father–child interactions. The boys' social skills in preschool were assessed using a Q-sort completed by observers and teachers and by the Social Responsiveness Questionnaire (SRS) completed by teachers. Results: Controlling for the severity of the boys' symptoms and IQ, their dyadic engagement was associated with the concurrent observer Q-sort and teacher-reported SRS measures, and their triadic engagement did not explain additional variance in these measures. Predicting over one year, dyadic engagement was associated again with the observer Q-sort and teacher SRS measures, while the boys' triadic engagement accounted for additional variance in these measures as well as the teacher Q-sort. Finally, boys' dyadic engagement predicted gains in social skills on the observer Q-sort, and their triadic engagement was predictive of gains in the observer and teacher Q-sort. Conclusions: The engagement that autistic preschool-age boys displayed in the context of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents appears to be transferred to the preschool setting, and triadic interactions are of particular significance.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - fathers
KW - parent–child interactions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85206626800&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14061
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14061
M3 - Article
C2 - 39417245
SN - 0021-9630
JO - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
JF - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
ER -