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- Title
Variation in differential reactions to comfort by parents versus strangers in children with severe or profound intellectual disabilities: the role of parental sensitivity and motor competence.
- Authors
Vandesande, Sien; Bosmans, Guy; Sterkenburg, Paula; Schuengel, Carlo; Van keer, Ines; Maes, Bea
- Abstract
Displaying selective attachment behaviours is an important developmental milestone for children with severe or profound intellectual disabilities (SPID). In the current study, between-child differences in their selective emotional responses to comfort provided by parents versus strangers were observed. We explored links between these differences and parental sensitivity and motor competence. A home-based experimental observation was conducted in 38 parent-child dyads, exposing children to four naturalistic stressors and to comfort provided by either their parents or a stranger. Emotional behaviour (arousal and valence) was micro-coded and differentiation variables were constructed, reflecting the children's level of differentiation between the parent and the stranger. Parental sensitivity was coded using the Emotional Availability Scales. Results showed that these children's differentiated responses to comfort were related to children's motor competencies (particularly their fine motor skills), but not to parental sensitivity. This study shows the need to go beyond sensitivity to understand individual differences in the most basal aspects of attachment for children with SPID.
- Subjects
PARENTS with disabilities; INTELLECTUAL disabilities; PARENT-child relationships; ATTACHMENT behavior; PARENTS; STRANGERS; FINE motor ability; PASSIVE smoking
- Publication
Current Psychology, 2023, Vol 42, Issue 15, p12476
- ISSN
1046-1310
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s12144-021-02501-0