TY - JOUR
T1 - Scoping review of behavioral coding measures used to evaluate parent responsiveness of children with autism or elevated risk of autism
AU - Uzonyi, Thelma E.
AU - Grissom, Alaina C.
AU - Anderson, Ranita V.
AU - Lee, Helen
AU - Towner-Wright, Sarah
AU - Crais, Elizabeth R.
AU - Watson, Linda R.
AU - Landa, Rebecca J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding support for Thelma E. Uzonyi at the initial stages of this project included the Royster Society of Fellows at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Institute of Education Sciences and the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs Doctoral Leadership Grant #H325D160060. Funding support for Alaina Grissom included a graduate assistantship provided by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center provided to students in the Speech and Hearing Science doctoral program.
Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding support for Thelma E. Uzonyi at the initial stages of this project included the Royster Society of Fellows at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Institute of Education Sciences and the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs Doctoral Leadership Grant #H325D160060. Funding support for Alaina Grissom included a graduate assistantship provided by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center provided to students in the Speech and Hearing Science doctoral program.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023/10
Y1 - 2023/10
N2 - Various aspects of parent responsiveness are associated with child outcomes, such as play, language, and social development. However, behavioral coding methods used to measure parent responsiveness vary widely, making comparison of results across studies difficult. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize current behavioral coding methods used in measuring parent responsiveness to children with autism or elevated likelihood of autism, synthesize the reported metrics used, and highlight the strengths and weaknesses in the reporting standards of available literature. A total of 101 articles met criteria for the review and were analyzed for metrics in demographics, coding system development and accessibility, characteristics of measured responsiveness, reliability, and validity. Results revealed variations in observational procedures, forms of measurement, and specific aspects of responsiveness measured. Details necessary for study replication or extension often were missing, such as parent demographics, clear definitions of parent responsiveness, and coder training procedures. The scoping review results reflect the wide variety of behavioral coding systems used and the inconsistent reporting in published literature on this topic. A case for a best practice model for behavioral coding metrics and reporting standards within parent responsiveness is presented in the discussion. Lay abstract: The topic of how parents react (e.g., how they talk and act) to their child with autism or elevated likelihood of autism, often called parent responsiveness, has been studied by researchers for over 50 years. Many methods for measuring behaviors around parent responsiveness have been created depending on what researchers were interested in discovering. For example, some include only the behaviors that the parent does/says in reacting to something the child does/says. Other systems look at all behaviors in a period of time between child and parent (e.g., who talked/acted first, how much the child or parent said/did). The purpose of this article was to provide a summary of how and what researchers looked at around parent responsiveness, describe the strengths and barriers of these approaches, and suggest a “best practices” method of looking at parent responsiveness. The model suggested could make it more possible to look across studies to compare study methods and results. The model could be used in the future by researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to provide more effective services to children and their families.
AB - Various aspects of parent responsiveness are associated with child outcomes, such as play, language, and social development. However, behavioral coding methods used to measure parent responsiveness vary widely, making comparison of results across studies difficult. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize current behavioral coding methods used in measuring parent responsiveness to children with autism or elevated likelihood of autism, synthesize the reported metrics used, and highlight the strengths and weaknesses in the reporting standards of available literature. A total of 101 articles met criteria for the review and were analyzed for metrics in demographics, coding system development and accessibility, characteristics of measured responsiveness, reliability, and validity. Results revealed variations in observational procedures, forms of measurement, and specific aspects of responsiveness measured. Details necessary for study replication or extension often were missing, such as parent demographics, clear definitions of parent responsiveness, and coder training procedures. The scoping review results reflect the wide variety of behavioral coding systems used and the inconsistent reporting in published literature on this topic. A case for a best practice model for behavioral coding metrics and reporting standards within parent responsiveness is presented in the discussion. Lay abstract: The topic of how parents react (e.g., how they talk and act) to their child with autism or elevated likelihood of autism, often called parent responsiveness, has been studied by researchers for over 50 years. Many methods for measuring behaviors around parent responsiveness have been created depending on what researchers were interested in discovering. For example, some include only the behaviors that the parent does/says in reacting to something the child does/says. Other systems look at all behaviors in a period of time between child and parent (e.g., who talked/acted first, how much the child or parent said/did). The purpose of this article was to provide a summary of how and what researchers looked at around parent responsiveness, describe the strengths and barriers of these approaches, and suggest a “best practices” method of looking at parent responsiveness. The model suggested could make it more possible to look across studies to compare study methods and results. The model could be used in the future by researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to provide more effective services to children and their families.
KW - autism spectrum disorders
KW - observational coding
KW - parent responsiveness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148502417&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/13623613231152641
DO - 10.1177/13623613231152641
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36802822
AN - SCOPUS:85148502417
SN - 1362-3613
VL - 27
SP - 1856
EP - 1875
JO - Autism
JF - Autism
IS - 7
ER -