title: The influence of parenting stress and child behavior problems on parental estimates of expressive and receptive language development.
abstract: This study examined the relative contributions of parental reports of child-related and parent-related stress to their estimates of expressive and receptive language skills on the Minnesota Child Development Inventory in 152 children referred to a communicative disorders clinic. Correlational analysis showed moderately high agreement between parental estimates and objective measures of expressive and receptive language ability. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that independent measures of language acquisition accounted 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 expressive and receptive language skills. Parental stress, in contrast, did not contribute significantly to language estimates. These findings suggest that parents are able to formulate estimates of language development which are relatively independent of personal or child-related stressors.
authors.affiliation: Chedoke-McMaster Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chaffee
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Secord-Gilbert
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Elbard
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richards
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010553:Personality Development; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*