Parenting and social functioning of children with and without cerebral palsy.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the associations between parenting dimensions and the social functioning of children with and without cerebral palsy (CP). The primary hypothesis was that controlling for cognitive ability, specific parenting dimensions would be associated with higher social functioning, including larger social networks, higher-quality friendships, and healthier social adjustment in children with and without CP.


METHODS
Forty-one children with cerebral palsy and 60 typically developing (TD) children, ages 6 to 12.


METHODS
Parenting Dimensions Inventory; Social Network Inventory for Children, Friendship Quality Questionnaire, Personality Inventory for Children-Second Edition, WISC-III Vocabulary.


RESULTS
Bivariate associations revealed that cognitive ability was associated with social functioning in both groups. In the group with CP, controlling for cognitive ability, parenting dimensions were not associated with social functioning, in contrast with findings in the TD sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest different parenting influences on the social development of children with and without CP. Theoretical and methodologic implications are discussed.
Cunningham
Sean D
SD
Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Utah, 1705 East Campus Center Drive, Room 327, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Sean.Cunningham@utah.edu
Warschausky
Seth
S
Thomas
Pamela Dixon
PD
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012944:Social Support