Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with Autism
(1) Background: Children can develop cognitive and social skills during play. Most research has focused on mothers, but the paternal features in interaction with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are mainly unexplored. This study aimed to compare fathers’ and mothers’ interactive behavior...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Brain Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/1/120 |
| _version_ | 1797445183417090048 |
|---|---|
| author | Silvia Perzolli Arianna Bentenuto Giulio Bertamini Paola Venuti |
| author_facet | Silvia Perzolli Arianna Bentenuto Giulio Bertamini Paola Venuti |
| author_sort | Silvia Perzolli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | (1) Background: Children can develop cognitive and social skills during play. Most research has focused on mothers, but the paternal features in interaction with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are mainly unexplored. This study aimed to compare fathers’ and mothers’ interactive behaviors with their children with ASD to identify similarities and differences during playful exchanges. (2) Methods: A total of 72 mothers and 72 fathers of paired children with ASD (chronological age: M = 44.61 months; SD = 13.37) took part in this study. Data were collected during 10 min of video-recorded semi-structured interactions with mothers and fathers separately in interaction with their children. (3) Results: Mothers showed more symbolic play (W = 3537; <i>p</i> < 0.001) than fathers, who displayed higher levels of exploratory play (t(139.44) = −2.52; <i>p</i> = 0.013) compared to mothers. However, child cognitive functioning impacts maternal play but not the father’s play characteristics. (4) Conclusions: Highlighting mother–child and father–child features may have important service delivery implications for implementing personalized parental-based interventions based on the strengths and weaknesses of both caregivers in a complementary system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:22:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1efcf1251a2040cba66b8cca245ce751 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:22:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-1efcf1251a2040cba66b8cca245ce7512023-11-30T21:27:56ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252023-01-0113112010.3390/brainsci13010120Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with AutismSilvia Perzolli0Arianna Bentenuto1Giulio Bertamini2Paola Venuti3Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyLaboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, ItalyDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitiè-Salpêtrière Hospital, Sorbonne University, 75651 Paris, FranceLaboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy(1) Background: Children can develop cognitive and social skills during play. Most research has focused on mothers, but the paternal features in interaction with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are mainly unexplored. This study aimed to compare fathers’ and mothers’ interactive behaviors with their children with ASD to identify similarities and differences during playful exchanges. (2) Methods: A total of 72 mothers and 72 fathers of paired children with ASD (chronological age: M = 44.61 months; SD = 13.37) took part in this study. Data were collected during 10 min of video-recorded semi-structured interactions with mothers and fathers separately in interaction with their children. (3) Results: Mothers showed more symbolic play (W = 3537; <i>p</i> < 0.001) than fathers, who displayed higher levels of exploratory play (t(139.44) = −2.52; <i>p</i> = 0.013) compared to mothers. However, child cognitive functioning impacts maternal play but not the father’s play characteristics. (4) Conclusions: Highlighting mother–child and father–child features may have important service delivery implications for implementing personalized parental-based interventions based on the strengths and weaknesses of both caregivers in a complementary system.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/1/120autism spectrum disorder (ASD)playmother–child interactionfather–child interaction |
| spellingShingle | Silvia Perzolli Arianna Bentenuto Giulio Bertamini Paola Venuti Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with Autism Brain Sciences autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play mother–child interaction father–child interaction |
| title | Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with Autism |
| title_full | Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with Autism |
| title_fullStr | Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with Autism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with Autism |
| title_short | Play with Me: How Fathers and Mothers Play with Their Preschoolers with Autism |
| title_sort | play with me how fathers and mothers play with their preschoolers with autism |
| topic | autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play mother–child interaction father–child interaction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/13/1/120 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT silviaperzolli playwithmehowfathersandmothersplaywiththeirpreschoolerswithautism AT ariannabentenuto playwithmehowfathersandmothersplaywiththeirpreschoolerswithautism AT giuliobertamini playwithmehowfathersandmothersplaywiththeirpreschoolerswithautism AT paolavenuti playwithmehowfathersandmothersplaywiththeirpreschoolerswithautism |