A Comparison of Parenting Dimensions between Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome and Mothers of Typically Developing Children

The purpose of the current study was to compare the parenting styles and dimensions in mothers of children with Down syndrome and mothers of typically developing children. Effective parenting is vital for a child’s intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development, and not all parenting techniques are equal in their effectiveness in raising a healthy, well-adjusted child. We expected that parents of children with Down syndrome would display more negative parenting techniques than parents of typically developing children because of their decreased parental well-being and increased caregiving demands. The sample was comprised of 35 mothers of children with Down syndrome and 47 mothers of typically developing children. The mothers completed nine parent-report questionnaires asking about the way in which they parent their child, their child’s cognitive and behavioral abilities, their own well-being, and the expectations and fears they have in relation to their child. We found that mothers of children with Down syndrome use an authoritative parenting style less and a permissive parenting style more than mothers of typically developing children. Additionally, we found that mothers of children with Down syndrome provided their children with less structure but more chaos than mothers of typically developing children. However, these differences between groups on parenting styles and dimensions no longer existed when we included parental stress in the analyses. Finally, we found that within the Down syndrome group negative parenting dimensions were positively correlated with child behavior problems. The results suggested that mothers of children with Down syndrome are overall using similar parenting methods as mothers of typically developing children. All differences that do exist in parenting styles and dimensions can be accounted for by parental stress. As such, parenting interventions for parents of children with Down syndrome should be either focused on reducing parental stress in an effort to improve parenting techniques or on educating parents on how to utilize positive parenting techniques despite their stressful life circumstances.https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/mono/1059/thumbnail.jp

Matching Variables for Research Involving Youth with Down Syndrome: Leiter-R versus PPVT-4

Much of what is known about the cognitive profile of Down syndrome (DS) is based on using either receptive vocabulary (e.g., PPTV-4) or nonverbal ability (e.g., Leiter-R) as a baseline to represent cognitive developmental level. In the present study, we examined the relation between these two measures in youth with DS, with non-DS intellectual disability (ID) and with typical development (TD). We also examined the degree to which these two measures produce similar results when used as a group matching variable. In a cross-sectional developmental trajectory analysis, we found that the relation between PPVT-4 and Leiter-R was largely similar across groups. However, when contrasting PPVT-4 and Leiter-R as alternate matching variables, the pattern of results was not always the same. When matched on Leiter-R or PPVT-4, the group with DS performed below that of the groups with ID and TD on receptive grammar and below the group with TD on category learning. When matched on the PPVT-4, the group with ID performed below that of the group with TD on receptive grammar and category learning, but these differences between the groups with ID and TD were not found when matched on the Leiter-R. The results of the study suggest that the PPVT-4 and Leiter-R are interchangeable at least for some outcome measures for comparing youth with DS and TD, but they may produce different results when comparing youth with ID and TD

Parenting Children with Down Syndrome: An Analysis of Parenting Styles, Parenting Dimensions, and Parental Stress

Effective parenting is vital for a child’s development. Although much work has been conducted on parenting typically developing children, little work has examined parenting children with Down syndrome. The purpose of the current study was to compare the parenting styles and dimensions in mothers of children with DS and mothers of TD children. Thirty-five mothers of children with DS and 47 mothers of TD children completed questionnaires about parenting, parental stress, child behavior problems, and child executive function. We found that mothers of children with DS use an authoritative parenting style less and a permissive parenting style more than mothers of TD children. Additionally, we found that mothers of children with DS use reasoning/induction and verbal hostility less and ignoring misbehavior more than mothers of TD children. All of these differences, except for those of reasoning/induction, were at least partially accounted for by the higher levels of parental stress in the DS group. Parenting interventions should be focused on reducing parental stress and training parents to parent under stress in an effort to improve parenting techniques, which would, in theory, improve long-term child outcomes for children with DS

Explicit Learning in Down Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Developmental Trajectory Approach

The purpose of the current study was to analyze the cross-sectional developmental trajectories of explicit category learning in individuals with Down syndrome compared to individuals with intellectual disability and typically developing individuals. Explicit learning is active, conscious, controlled, and intentional; it is a deliberate attempt to acquire new knowledge or skill from repeated tries with feedback. Explicit learning improves with age throughout childhood and is closely related to intelligence. Because of its relation to intelligence, we expected individuals with Down syndrome to perform below the level expected for their chronological age and nonverbal ability. The sample was comprised of 41 individuals with Down syndrome, 25 individuals with intellectual disability, 40 individuals who were typically developing chronological age matches, and 27 individuals who were typically developing nonverbal mental age matches. All participants completed a measure of nonverbal ability, the Leiter International Performance Test- Revised, and two measures of explicit learning, the Category Task and the Concept Formation subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson-III. Cross-sectional developmental trajectories were created examining explicit learning over chronological age and explicit learning over nonverbal ability. For the Category Task over chronological age trajectory, the Down syndrome and intellectual disability groups had a delay in onset in explicit learning. For the Woodcock-Johnson-III over chronological age trajectory, the Down syndrome and intellectual disability groups had a delay in onset in explicit learning, and the Down syndrome group showed a slower rate in development in explicit learning. For the Category Task over nonverbal ability trajectory, no group showed a delay in onset or slower rate in development in explicit learning. For the Woodcock-Johnson-III over nonverbal ability trajectory, the Down syndrome group had a slower rate of development in explicit learning. The results suggested that in comparison to typically developing individuals and individuals with mixed-etiology intellectual disability, individuals with Down syndrome show similar performance in and development of explicit category learning in relation to their nonverbal ability as long as the explicit learning measure does not constrain their performance.https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/mono/1060/thumbnail.jp

College Students\u27 Social Perceptions Toward Individuals with Intellectual Disability

The purpose of the current study was to describe the social perceptions of American college students towards individuals with intellectual disability (ID), identify factors that influence social perception, and determine if level of functioning alters one’s perception. The sample was comprised of 186 American college students. The participants completed the Attitudes Toward Intellectual Disability Questionnaire (ATTID). The ATTID measures five factors—discomfort towards ID, knowledge of capacity and rights, interaction with individuals with ID, sensibility/tenderness, and knowledge of causes. The students’ overall social perception towards ID was primarily positive for all factors except for sensibility/tenderness. More positive social perception was found amongst students with greater knowledge of ID and more frequent and more positive interactions with individuals with ID. Additionally, social perception was significantly more negative for lower functioning than higher functioning individuals with ID. This study helped identify factors that need more attention in awareness campaigns and educational programs

Too Tired to Think Outside the Box? An Analysis of Ego Depletion\u27s Effects on Creativity

Recent research suggests that complex tasks that require self-control to complete, such as strenuous tests or complicated decisions, put a strain on the limited resource known as the ego. The ego is thought to be a kind of mental energy reserve that can be depleted with use. Previous studies have shown that, not only is it possible to deplete the ego, but this depletion leads to poor performance on various later tasks involving skills such as decision making, cognitive extrapolation, reasoning, and self-control. Two models in particular have gained support recently: the resource model –involving blood glucose– and the trade-off model – involving distribution of attention. Because both creativity and the ego are thought to be biologically based and because cognitive flexibility, which has been shown to be highly correlated with creativity, seems to require a fairly high level of processing like other processes on which ego depletion has been shown to have a negative effect, it is reasonable to suggest that ego depletion would cause a decrease in creativity as well

Matching Variables for Research Involving Youth with Down Syndrome: Leiter-R versus PPVT-4

Much of what is known about the cognitive profile of Down syndrome (DS) is based on using either receptive vocabulary (e.g., PPTV-4) or nonverbal ability (e.g., Leiter-R) as a baseline to represent cognitive developmental level. In the present study, we examined the relation between these two measures in youth with DS, with non-DS intellectual disability (ID) and with typical development (TD). We also examined the degree to which these two measures produce similar results when used as a group matching variable. In a cross-sectional developmental trajectory analysis, we found that the relation between PPVT-4 and Leiter-R was largely similar across groups. However, when contrasting PPVT-4 and Leiter-R as alternate matching variables, the pattern of results was not always the same. When matched on Leiter-R or PPVT-4, the group with DS performed below that of the groups with ID and TD on receptive grammar and below the group with TD on category learning. When matched on the PPVT-4, the group with ID performed below that of the group with TD on receptive grammar and category learning, but these differences between the groups with ID and TD were not found when matched on the Leiter-R. The results of the study suggest that the PPVT-4 and Leiter-R are interchangeable at least for some outcome measures for comparing youth with DS and TD, but they may produce different results when comparing youth with ID and TD

Patterns of autism spectrum symptomatology in individuals with Down syndrome without comorbid autism spectrum disorder

Background Prevalence estimates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Down syndrome (DS) are highly varied. This variation is partly due to the difficulty of screening for and diagnosing comorbid ASD in individuals with a syndrome that carries its own set of social communicative and behavioral difficulties that are not well documented. The aim of this study was to identify the typical range of social communicative impairments observed in children, adolescents, and young adults with DS who do not have comorbid ASD. Methods We examined patterns of scores from the five subscales of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) in 46 individuals with DS (ages 10–21 years) without comorbid ASD relative to the published normative sample. We also explored the correlations between SRS symptomatology and age, nonverbal cognition, and receptive language. Results SRS scores were elevated (i.e., more ASD symptoms endorsed), with mean scores falling into the clinically significant range. Analysis by subscale revealed a specific pattern, with Autistic Mannerisms and Social Cognition scores significantly more elevated than Social Communication scores, which were significantly more elevated than Social Awareness and Social Motivation scores. Correlations between SRS scores and the other measures varied by subscale. Conclusions General elevated ASD symptomatology on the SRS indicates the need for developing population-based norms specific to DS. The pattern of scores across subscales should inform clinicians of the typical range of behaviors observed in DS so that individuals with atypical patterns of behavior can be more easily identified and considered for a full ASD evaluation

Rule-Based Category Learning in Down Syndrome

Rule-based category learning was examined in youths with Down syndrome (DS), youths with intellectual disability (ID), and typically developing (TD) youths. Two tasks measured category learning: the Modified Card Sort task (MCST) and the Concept Formation test of the Woodcock-Johnson-III ( Woodock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001 ). In regression-based analyses, DS and ID groups performed below the level expected for their nonverbal ability. In cross-sectional developmental trajectory analyses, results depended on the task. On the MCST, the DS and ID groups were similar to the TD group. On the Concept Formation test, the DS group had slower cross-sectional change than the other 2 groups. Category learning may be an area of difficulty for those with ID, but task-related factors may affect trajectories for youths with DS

Prescribing indicators at primary health care centers within the WHO African region: a systematic analysis (1995-2015)

Abstract Background Rational medicine use is essential to optimize quality of healthcare delivery and resource utilization. We aim to conduct a systematic review of changes in prescribing patterns in the WHO African region and comparison with WHO indicators in two time periods 1995–2005 and 2006–2015. Methods Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, Africa-Wide Nipad, Africa Journals Online (AJOL), Google scholar and International Network for Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) Bibliography databases to identify primary studies reporting prescribing indicators at primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Africa. This was supplemented by a manual search of retrieved references. We assessed the quality of studies using a 14-point scoring system modified from the Downs and Black checklist with inclusions of recommendations in the WHO guidelines. Results Forty-three studies conducted in 11 African countries were included in the overall analysis. These studies presented prescribing indicators based on a total 141,323 patient encounters across 572 primary care facilities. The results of prescribing indicators were determined as follows; average number of medicines prescribed per patient encounter = 3.1 (IQR 2.3–4.8), percentage of medicines prescribed by generic name =68.0 % (IQR 55.4–80.3), Percentage of encounters with antibiotic prescribed =46.8 % (IQR 33.7–62.8), percentage of encounters with injection prescribed =25.0 % (IQR 18.7–39.5) and the percentage of medicines prescribed from essential medicines list =88.0 % (IQR 76.3–94.1). Prescribing indicators were generally worse in private compared with public facilities. Analysis of prescribing across two time points 1995–2005 and 2006–2015 showed no consistent trends. Conclusions Prescribing indicators for the African region deviate significantly from the WHO reference targets. Increased collaborative efforts are urgently needed to improve medicine prescribing practices in Africa with the aim of enhancing the optimal utilization of scarce resources and averting negative health consequences