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ERIC Number: EJ1269519
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Oct
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: N/A
Attributions, Causal Beliefs, and Help-Seeking Behavior of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sleep Problems
McLay, Laurie; Hansen, Sarah G.; Carnett, Amarie; France, Karyn G.; Blampied, Neville M.
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v24 n7 p1829-1840 Oct 2020
Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder are prevalent and persistent but also treatable. Little is known about how and why parents of such children seek help for sleep disturbance. Via an online survey (n = 244 respondents), we gathered information about parents' attributions about children's sleep problems and beliefs about causes and on sources of information about, and their decisions regarding, help-seeking. Eighty-two percent of parents reported seeking some kind of help for their child's sleep disturbance, and the average parent had tried six different treatment strategies, most commonly medical. Alignment of parents' treatment choices with empirical evidence about treatment efficacy was poor, but belief in effectiveness was closely related to frequency of use of a treatment. In a Principal Components Analysis, parental attributions loaded on two factors: one which suggests the sleep problems are viewed as intrinsic to autism and stable (factor one) and the other as located within the child, stable, and treatment resistant (factor two). These findings have important implications for parental education and clinical practice in the treatment of sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand; United States; Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A