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Predicting Behavior Problems in Children with Epilepsy: Child Factors, Disease Factors, Family Stress, and Child‐Mother Interaction
Author(s) -
Pianta Robert C.,
Lothman Deborah J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00826.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , epilepsy , affect (linguistics) , disease , social relation , child development , el niño , clinical psychology , psychiatry , pediatrics , medicine , social psychology , communication , pathology
This study examines the relative role of parent‐child relationships, family stress, and disease factors in predicting behavior problems in children with epilepsy. It extends existing literature on parent‐child relationships and behavior problems by examining children with biological risk. Child‐mother interaction was observed for 51 children with epilepsy ages 7–13 years and related to teacher‐ and parent‐reported behavior problems. Child's self‐reliance correlated with parent‐reported problems; expression of affect related to teacher‐reported externalizing problems. A child self‐reliance factor accounted for behavior problems after partialing age, gender, IQ, epilepsy variables, and family stress. The term child gender × quality of mother‐child interaction predicted teacher‐reported externalizing problems, with mother‐child interaction correlated with behavior problems for boys. Child‐parent relationships predict the development of behavior problems over and above the influence of disease‐related factors, even for children at considerable biological risk.