Impact of parenting practices on parent-child relationships in children with specific learning disability

Parents of children with specific learning disability (SpLD) undergo stress in coping up with their child's condition.

To document the parenting practices of parents having a child with newly diagnosed SpLD and to analyze their impact on parent-child relationships.

Cross-sectional questionnaire-based study in our clinic.

From May 2007 to January 2008, 150 parents (either mother or father) of children consecutively diagnosed as having SpLD were enrolled. Parenting practices and parent-child relationships were measured by the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Parent Form (APQ-PF) and the Parent Child Relationship Questionnaire (PCRQ), respectively.

Pearson correlation coefficients between subscales of APQ-PF and PCRQ were computed. Multiple regression analysis was carried out for statistical significance of the clinical and demographic variables.

Parents who were: (i) "involved" in parenting had a good "personal relationship and disciplinary warmth," (ii) practicing "positive parenting" had good "warmth, personal relationship and disciplinary warmth," (iii) "poorly supervising" their child's activities lacked "warmth and personal relationship," (iv) practicing "inconsistent discipline' had a higher "power assertion" and (v) practicing "corporal punishment" lacked "warmth" and had a higher "power assertion and possessiveness" in their relationships with their child. Parent being poorly educated or currently ill and child having all three types of SpLD present concomitantly or a sibling or a sibling with a chronic disability or being in class standard IX to XI were variables that independently predicted a poor parenting or parent-child relationship subscale score.

The present study has identified parenting practices that need to be encouraged or excluded for improving parent-child relationships. Initiating these measures would help in the rehabilitation of children with SpLD.