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Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Vol. 19, No. 1, 1991 The Influence of Parenting Stress and Child Behavior Problems on Parental Estimates of Expressive and Receptive Language Development C. A. Chaffee, 1 Charles E. Cunningham, 1,4 Margaret Seeord-Giibert, 3 Heather Elbard, 2 and Joanne Richards 3 This study examined the relative contributions of parental reports of child- related and parent-related stress to their estimates of expressive and recep- tive language skills on the Minnesota ChiM Development Inventory in 152 children referred to a communicative disorders clinic. Correlational analysis showed moderately high agreement between parental estimates and objec- tive measures of expressive and receptive language ability. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that independent measures of language acquisition account- ed for the greatest amount of variance in parental estimates of expressive and receptive language skills. Stressful child behavior accounted for a small but statistically significant proportion of the variance in estimates of expres- sive and receptive language skills. Parental stress, in contrast, did not con- tribute significantly to language estimates. These findings suggest that parents are able to formulate estimates of language development which are relative- ly independent of personal or child-related stressors. Although parents are widely used as informants regarding their children's behavior and development (Mash & Terdal, 1988), studies regarding their Manuscript received in final form July 18, 1990 We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mary Ann Evans for the valuable review of this manuscript. IChedoke-McMaster Hospitals and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. 2Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. 3Department of Pediatrics, Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals and McMaster University, Hamil- ton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. 4Address all correspondence to Charles E. Cunningham, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Chedoke Division, Chedoke-McMaster Hospital, Box 2000 A, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. 65 0091-0627/91/0200-0065506.50/0 1991PlenumPublishing Corporation

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Page 1: The influence of parenting stress and child behavior problems on parental estimates of expressive and receptive language development

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Vol. 19, No. 1, 1991

The Influence of Parenting Stress and Child Behavior Problems on Parental Estimates of Expressive and Receptive Language Development

C. A. Chaffee, 1 Charles E. Cunningham, 1,4 Margaret Seeord-Giibert, 3 Heather Elbard, 2 and Joanne Richards 3

This study examined the relative contributions o f parental reports o f child- related and parent-related stress to their estimates o f expressive and recep- tive language skills on the Minnesota ChiM Development Inventory in 152 children referred to a communicative disorders clinic. Correlational analysis showed moderately high agreement between parental estimates and objec- tive measures of expressive and receptive language ability. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that independent measures o f language acquisition account- ed for the greatest amount o f variance in parental estimates of expressive and receptive language skills. Stressful child behavior accounted for a small but statistically significant proportion o f the variance in estimates o f expres- sive and receptive language skills. Parental stress, in contrast, did not con- tribute significantly to language estimates. These findings suggest that parents are able to formulate estimates o f language development which are relative- ly independent o f personal or child-related stressors.

Although parents are widely used as informants regarding their children's behavior and development (Mash & Terdal, 1988), studies regarding their

Manuscript received in final form July 18, 1990 We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mary Ann Evans for the valuable review of this manuscript.

IChedoke-McMaster Hospitals and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. 2Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. 3Department of Pediatrics, Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals and McMaster University, Hamil- ton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5.

4Address all correspondence to Charles E. Cunningham, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Chedoke Division, Chedoke-McMaster Hospital, Box 2000 A, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5.

65

0091-0627/91/0200-0065506.50/0 �9 1991 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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66 Chaffee, Cunningham, Secord-Gilbert, Eibard, and Richards

objectivity have produced conflicting results. While some studies find that parent reports on standardized behavior problem checklists correspond to more objective assessments (Lachar, Kline, & Gdowski, 1987; Richters & Pellegrini, 1989; Schaughency & Lahey, 1985), others suggest parent ratings may be negatively biased by stresses such as marital conflict, depression, or psychopathology (Christensen, Phillips, Glascow, & Johnson, 1983; Estroff et al., 1984; Fergusson, Horwood, Gretton, & Shannon, 1985; Forehand, Wells, McMahon, Griest, & Rogers, 1982; Griest, Wells, & Forehand, 1979; Rickard, Forehand, Wells, Griest, & McMahon, 1981; Schaughency & La- hey, 1985; Webster-Stratton, 1988). While a considerable number of studies have examined the effects of personal stressors on parental perceptions of child behavioral difficulties, little is known regarding the influence of social variables on parental evaluation of their child's cognitive, language, motor, or adaptive skills. Nonetheless, parental reports regarding children's develop- ment on standardized developmental checklists such as the Minnesota Child Development Inventory (MCDI; Ireton & Thwing, 1972) are widely used to assess children with a variety of developmental difficulties (Byrne, Backman, & Smith, 1986; Chaffee, Cunningtlam, Secord-Gilbert, Elbard, & Richards, in press; Colligan, 1977; Ireton, Thwig, & Currier, 1977; Saylor & Brandt, 1986). While most studies reveal moderate correlations between parental reports and more objective measures of development, there is little informa- tion regarding variables which may influence the accuracy of parental evalu- ations.

Among children with language disorders, for example, parent reports correlate moderately with independent measures of receptive and expressive language acquisition (Chaffee et al., in press). Nonetheless, a considerable proportion of the variance in maternal estimates appears to be influenced by factors unrelated to the child's language skills. Several factors suggest that the markers of social adversity which appear to distort parental perceptions of behavioral difficulty may also influence estimates of language de- velopment.

Parents of language-delayed children experience higher levels of psy- chosocial distress and report an increase in the prevalence of behavioral difficulties which are, themselves, a source of considerable parenting stress (Beitchman, Nair, Clegg, Ferguson, & Patel, 1986). The prevalence of at- tention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a group whose parents report higher levels of stress (Breen & Barkley, 1988), depression (Befera & Barkley, 1985; Cunningham, Benness, & Siegel, 1988), and marital discord (Befera & Bark- ley, 1985), for example, is up to six times the level observed in the popula- tion at large (Baker & Cantwell, 1982; Beitchman, Nair, Clegg, Ferguson, and Patel, 1986; Cantwell, Baker, & Mattison, 1979; Szatmari, Offord, & Boyle, 1989).

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Parenting Stress and Language Estimates 67

Stressors experienced by families of language-disordered chgildren (Beitchman, Nair, Clegg, Ferguson, and Patel, 1986) are similar to those which appear to reduce the accuracy of parental reports of behavioral problems. If these variables bias reports regarding child development, the interpretation and utility of widely used questionnaires may need to be recon- sidered. This study, therefore, examined the relative influence of child-related stress, parent-related stress, and sociodemographic variables on parental es- timates of expressive and receptive language skills in a sample of children referred to a communicative disorders clinic.

METHOD

Subjects

A sample of 152 children (115 boys, 37 girls) ranging in age from 24 to 87 months (M = 49 months, SD = 12.6) referred consecutively to the Communicative Disorders Clinic in the Children's Hospital at Chedoke- McMaster Hospitals participated in this study. The Communicative Disord- ers Clinic is a regional program providing diagnostic services for a metropoli- tan area with a population of approximately 429,500. The majority of subjects were white (98%), 1% were black, and 1% were Native American. Most (84%) parents were married or living with a partner. On the Blishen socioeco- nomic scale (SES) (Blishen & McRoberts, 1976), 3% of the subjects were in the highest class, 15% in the second, 11% in the third, 12% in the fourth, 16% in the fifth, and 43% in the lowest socioeconomic category. Using a cutoff score 1.5 standard deviations below the mean for age (Beitchman, Nair, Clegg, & Patel, 1986) on the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (Re- vised) (Reynell, 1977), 37% of the referral sample demonstrated no signifi- cant delay in language, 27% demonstrated delays in expressive language alone, 6% showed delays in language comprehension alone, and 30% showed delays in both comprehension and expression.

The means and standard deviations for each demographic measure are presented in Table I.

Dependent Measures

Language. The Reynell Developmental Language Scales (Revised) (Rey- nell, 1977) is a widely used standardized measure of the expressive and recep- tive language of children ranging in age from 6 months to 6 years. The Verbal Comprehension scale requires the child to respond nonverbally to a series

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68 Chaffee, Cunningham, Secord-Gilbert, Elbard, and Richards

Table I. Mean and Standard Deviation Scores for Nonverbal Age, Language, and Stress Scores ~

M SD Chronological age (months) 49.0 12.6 Leiter nonverbal IQ score 93.5 20.6 MCDI expressive language age 32.3 11.7 MCDI comprehension-conceptual age 37.8 14.1 Reynell Expressive Language age 35.6 16.3 Reynell Language Comprehension age 38.9 13.2 PSI Parent Domain z score -0.1 1.0 PSI Child Domain z score 1.1 1.2

aMCDI = Minnesota Child Development Inventory; PSI = Parenting Stress Index.

of increasingly complex questions and instructions. The Expressive Language scale measures presymbolic skills, naming, the ability to describe word mean- ings, and the use of language to express consecutive ideas. Measures f rom both scales are given in terms of z scores.

Parent Evaluation of Language Development. On the MCDI (Ireton & Thwing, 1972), parents respond yes or no to 320 descriptions of develop- mental milestones accomplished between the ages of 6 and 75 months. The MCDI yields age equivalent scores for general development, gross motor , fine motor , expressive language, comprehension-conceptual, situation com- prehension, self-help, and personal-social skills. This study examined only the scores for the expressive language and comprehension-conceptual scales.

Parenting Stress. The Parenting Stress Index (PSI) (Abidin, 1983) is a 150-item self-report questionnaire intended for use with parents of children under 10 years of age. The Child Domain Stress subscale of the PSI includes measures of the child's adaptabili ty/plasticity, acceptability to parent, demandingness/degree of bother, mood, distractibility/activity, and ability to reinforce the parent. The Parent Domain Stress subscale of the PSI in- cludes measures of depression, a t tachment to child, restrictions imposed by parental role, sense of competence, social isolation, relationship with spouse, and parental health. This study is based on z scores for the Parent Domain Stress and Child Domain Stress subscales.

R E S U L T S

Predictors of MCDI Expressive Language

Hierarchical multiple-regression analyses (Pedhazur, 1982) were calcu- lated to determine the relative contribution of independent measures of ex-

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Parenting Stress and Language Estimates 69

pressive and receptive language ability, stressful child behavior, parental stress, and sociodemographic variables to parent reports of expressive and receptive language development on the MCDI. Measures of gender, SES, child stress, and parental stress were entered first followed by Reynell ex- pressive and receptive language scores. Age scores were entered last to de- termine the residual contribution of this variable. The coefficients of multiple determination (r 2) are presented in Table II.

While the child's gender and family SES did not contribute significant- ly to parental estimates, PSI Child Domain Stress accounted for 4% of the variance in expressive language estimates. Parents whose children were judged more stressful provided lower estimates of the child's expressive language skills. Reynell Expressive Language score accounted for an additional 45% of the variance in parental estimates of expressive language ability on the MCDI. The Reynell Comprehension score contributed an additional 5% to the variance in parental estimates. Finally, age accounted for a residual 2% of the variance. When Reynell Expressive Language and Comprehension scores preceded the entry of PSI Stress measures in a second equation (Ped- hazur, 1982), Child and Parent Domain Stress did not contribute to the vari- ance in expressive language estimates.

Table I1. Hierarchical Regression Equation Predicting MCDI Expressive Language Age Score

Multiple

Predictor variable r r 2 r z Change

MCDI language expression

Gender - .067 .005 .005 Socioeconomic status - . 086 .012 ,008 PSI Child Domain Stress - . 209 .053 ,041 b PSI Parent Domain Stress - . 0 9 9 ,053 .000 Reynell expression age .702 .511 .449 ~ Reynell comprehension age .705 .557 .046 c Chronological age .608 .573 ,020 b

MCDI language comprehension

Gender - .049 .002 .002 Socioeconomic status - , 077 ,009 ,006 PSI Child Domain Stress - . 239 .062 .054 d PSI Parent Domain Stress - . 172 .067 .005 Reynell comprehension age .758 .573 .506 c Reynell expression age .745 .634 .063 c Chronological age .686 .669 .035 c

"MCDI = Minnesota Child Development Inventory; PSI = Parenting Stress Index.

~z, < .05. cp < .05. dp < .01.

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70 Chaffee, Cunningham, Secord-Gilbert, Elbard, and Richards

Predictors of MCDI Comprehension-Conceptual !

The coefficients of multiple determination (r 2) for the predictors of MCDI language comprehension scores are presented in the lower half of Table II. Again, while child gender and family SES did not contribute significant- ly, PSI Child Domain Stress accounted for 5~ of the variance in MCDI lan- gauge comprehension scores. Reynell Language Comprehension scores accounted for an additional 51070 of the variance, with Reynell Expressive Language scores contributing an additional 6070 to the variance in MCDI com- prehension scores. Finally, the child's age accounted for a residual 3.5070 of the variance. When language scores preceded the entry of PSI Stress scores in a second regression equation, Stress scores did not contribute significant- ly to language comprehension estimates.

While stressful child behavior was linked to lower estimates of language expression and comprehension skills, the individual Child Domain subscales revealed no clear pattern: demandingness (SD = 1.2), chilld's acceptability (SD = 1.1), moodiness (SD = 0.8), distractibility/hyperactivity (SD = 0.8), adaptability (SD = 0.7), reinforces parent (SD = 0.4). Moreover, while the composite Child Domain score accounted for approximately 4070 of the var- iance in expressive and receptive language estimates, the individual scores did not contribute significantly.

DISCUSSION

Although Child Domain Stress scores were associated with a very small, though significant, reduction in parental estimates of expressive language skills, measures of Parent Domain Stress did not contribute to estimates of expressive and receptive language ability. This finding is consistent with previ- ous reports of consistently strong correlations between the MCDI and ob- jective measures of developmental status (Colligan, 1977; Dean & Steffen, 1984; Eisert, Spector, Shankaran, Faigenbaum, & Szego, 1980; Ireton et al., 1977; Kenny, Hebel, Sexton, & Fox, 1987; Saylor & Brandt, 1986). The MCDI, consequently, appears to have good predictive validity (Colligan, 1976, 1981; Gottfried, Guerin, Spencer, & Meyer, 1984; Guerin & Gottfried, 1987) and classification ability (Byrene et al., 1986; Chaffee et al., in press; Gott- fried et al., 1984; Kenny et al., 1987; Sturner, Funk, Thomas, & Green, 1982).

The results of this study are consistent with recent reports failing to support the depression-distortion hypothesis (Richters & Pellegrini, 1989). Moreover, they suggest that the negative bias psychosocial stress exerts on parental evaluations of their children's behavior (Panaccione & Wahler, 1986; Webster-Stratton, 1988) may not extend to their evaluations of language de-

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Parenting Stress and Language Estimates 71

velopment. Several variables may account for this discrepancy. First, par- ents of the language-delayed children studied here may not have experienced levels of stress which were significant enough to influence estimates of lan- guage skills. Indeed, the Parent Domain subscale, a measure reflecting depres- sion, attachment to child, restrictions imposed by parental role, parents' sense of competence, social isolation, relationship with spouse, and parental health, was well within the normal range. The populations studied by investigators examining child behavior problems, in contrast, appear to have been exposed to substantially higher levels of psychosocial distress (Panaccione & Wah- ler, 1986; Webster-Stratton, 1988). Although this sample of language-delayed children was considered to be more stressful than 86~ of the normative popu- lation, stress stemming from social isolation, marital conflict, or depression might bias parental evaluations more than stressful child behavior. Alterna- tively, problematic behavior, which is often perceived as intentional and un- controllable (Sobol, Ashbourne, Earn, & Cunningham, 1989), may elicit an affective response which may distort parental perceptions more than delays in language acquisition. Finally, the item content of the MCDI and Reynell language scales may be more similar than parental ratings of behavior and the measures collected by independent home observers. Schaughency and La- hey (1985), for example, reported that parental ratings of child behavior corre- late more highly with teacher ratings than with the reports of observers in the home.

While the elevated Child Domain Stress scores observed here are con- sistent with studies reported an increased prevalence of psychiatric disorders among language-delayed children (Baker & Cantwell, 1982, 1987; Beitchman, Nair, Clegg, Ferguson, & Patel, 1986; Cantwell & Baker, 1980; Cantwell et al., 1979; Silva, Williams, & McGee, 1987; Stevenson & Richman, 1978), Parent Domain Stress scores were within normal limits. Although these find- ings appear inconsistent with studies reporting elevated psychosocial stress in families of speech- and language-impaired children (Beitchman, Nair, (Clegg, & Patel, 1986), the different sampling frames adopted in the present vs. previous studies limit direct comparison. Beitchman, Nair, Clegg, Ferguson, and Patel's (1986) 5 �89 sample was, for example, 17 months older than the group studied here. Since normal language skills emerge by age 5 �89 in a significant number of language-delayed preschoolers (Bishop & Edmun- son, 1987), older samples represent a more severely impaired population. Second, since this study was designed to examine variables influencing the validity of the MCDI in clinical contexts, we included all referrals to a preschool Communicative Disorders Clinic. Although language delays were suspected in all referrals, 37% evidenced expressive and receptive language scores within normal limits. Beitchman's epidemiologically selected sample, in contrast, included only 5 Vz year olds with demonstrated language delays.

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These findings require replication. Nonetheless, while limited to preschool referrals to a communicative disorders clinic, they suggest that parental evaluations of expressive and receptive language skills are relative- ly independent of the types of personal stressors which appear to bias evalu- ations of child behavior.

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