CORRELATES OF DIRECTIVENESS IN THE INTERACTIONS OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS

Twenty preschool-age children with developmental delays and language i mpairment participated in this study, which compared fathers' and moth ers' directiveness and parental stress. Similarities between fathers a nd mothers were found for turntaking control, response referents, and responses to the child's participation. However, fathers differed from mothers in two of the dimensions of directiveness examined: fathers u sed more response control and topic control than mothers. Both parents reported similarly low levels of child-related and parenting stress, but mothers perceived more stress than fathers related to the responsi bilities associated with parenting a child with a handicap. Correlatio ns between directiveness, child characteristics, and stress revealed t hat fathers used greater turntaking control and topic control with chi ldren who were developmentally less mature, whereas mothers used great er topic control with children who were less involved in interaction. Both fathers' and mothers' use of response control was positively rela ted to stress. Implications for involving fathers in parent-focused in tervention include screening father-child interactions before interven tion, interpreting parent-child interaction styles in terms of their r ole in enhancing the child's social participation, and acknowledging t he role of familial factors (such as stress) on interaction styles.