Great Expectations: The Influence of Parent Expectancies on Therapeutic Improvements in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Parents play an integral role in the success of interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous research has repeatedly demonstrated the value of involving parents in the therapeutic process to enhance child therapeutic gains. Parent outcome expectancy, or a parent’s belief that improvements in their child will be achieved through the use of a specific treatment, is one mechanism that has been suggested to influence parental involvement in treatment. Previous work has demonstrated that greater parent outcome expectancies lead to improved treatment attendance and adherence, which in turn subsequently leads to greater therapeutic improvements for the child; however, this relationship has yet to be examined in interventions for children with ASD.

Participants were 19 children with ASD and their parents, who were part of a larger project evaluating the utility of a modified applied behavioral analysis type intervention. The first objective of this study was to examine the influence of parent outcome expectancies on in-lab treatment outcomes, in-home treatment outcomes, and overall social functioning of their child. The second objective was to investigate the relationship between parent outcome expectancies and child characteristics; specifically, age, ASD symptom severity, and adaptive behavior functioning. When controlling for child characteristics, parents who reported high outcome expectancies before the start of the intervention reported greater overall social functioning throughout the intervention. In comparison, parents who reported low outcome expectancies at before the start of the intervention reported lower overall social functioning of their child at all timepoints. Parents who reported medium outcome expectancies at pretest reported no significant improvement or decline in social functioning of their child during the intervention. Parents of children who are older or who have more adaptive behavior functioning skills will report greater overall social functioning throughout the intervention. Results highlight the importance for professionals working with individuals with ASD to be cognizant of the significant impact parents have on treatment as well as how child characteristics influence how parents perceive therapies in order to maximize the benefits of treatment.