470036

2013
AUT18310.1177/1362361312470036AutismHaven et al.

Article
Autism

The relation of parent–child interaction 2014, Vol. 18(3) 292­–300

© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/1362361312470036
and without autism spectrum disorders aut.sagepub.com

Erin L Haven, Christen N Manangan, Joanne K Sparrow and

Beverly J Wilson

Abstract
This study examined associations between parent–child interactions and the development of social skills in 42 children
(21 typically developing and 21 with autism spectrum disorders) between the ages of 3 years, 0 months and 6 years,
11 months. We expected that positive parent–child interaction qualities would be related to children’s social skills and
would mediate the negative relation between children’s developmental status (typical development vs autism spectrum
disorders) and social skills. Videotapes of parents and children during a 5-min wordless book task were coded for parent
positive affect and emotional support as well as parent–child cohesiveness. Emotional support and cohesiveness were
significantly related to children’s social skills, such that higher emotional support and cohesiveness were associated
with higher social skills, R2 = .29, p = .02, and R2 = .38, p = .002, respectively. Additionally, cohesiveness mediated the
relation between children’s developmental status and social skills. These findings suggest that parent emotional support
and cohesiveness between parents and children positively influence children’s social skills. Parent positive affect was
unrelated to social skills. Implications of these findings for social skills interventions are discussed, particularly for young
children with autism spectrum disorders.

Keywords
autism spectrum disorders, parent–child interactions, social skills

Poor social functioning is the hallmark of autism spectrum
disorders (ASD) and remains a core component of current
diagnostic criteria (Laushey et al., 2009; Vickerstaff et al.,
2007). Social skills, defined as the strategies people use to
interact positively and effectively with others (Rao et al.,
2008), represent one component of social functioning and
create the foundation for forming and maintaining positive
relationships with others. Research suggests that typically
developing children utilize a wide range of social skills
(e.g. gestures, speech, social referencing, and facial expres-
sions) when interacting with peers (Charlop et al., 2010).
In contrast, children with ASD demonstrate significant
challenges in the development and utilization of social
skills (Charlop et al., 2010). Children with ASD show less
interest in interacting with others, engage in more solitary
play, are less preferred as playmates, experience fewer
reciprocal friendships, and have lower quality interactions
(Baker et al., 2007; Charlop et al., 2010; Cotugno, 2009;
McConnell, 2002).
Deficits in children’s social skills increase the likeli-
hood of later negative outcomes. Studies on typically
developing children have linked poor social skills to peer
rejection, social isolation, poor academic achievement and
adjustment, delinquency, marginal employment in adult-
hood, and mental health problems (Bellini et al., 2007;
Bijstra and Jackson, 1998; Cowart et al., 2004; Elliott and
Gresham, 1987). Studies on children with ASD have found
similar adverse outcomes, including depression, anxiety,
academic underachievement, disruptive behavioral prob-
lems, poor social relationship quality, and fewer employ-
ment opportunities later in life (Macintosh and
Dissanayake, 2006; Rao et al., 2008; White and Roberson-
Nay, 2009). Prior research with the current sample con-
firmed that children with ASD had significantly lower
social skills than typically developing children (Wilson
and Montague, 2012). Given the strong association
Seattle Pacific University, USA
Corresponding author:
Erin L Haven, Department of Clinical Psychology, Seattle Pacific
University, 3307 3rd Avenue West Suite 107, Seattle, WA 98119, USA.
Email: ehaven@spu.edu

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Haven et al. 293
between poor social skills and negative life outcomes, it is
crucial to identify factors that may contribute to the devel-
opment of effective social skills.
The role of parent–child
interactions in the development of
social skills
Research on typically developing children suggests that the
quality of parent–child interactions may play an important
role in the development of children’s social skills (Baker
et al., 2007; Cumberland-Li et al., 2003; Leidy et al., 2010).
These interactions may provide a context in which children
learn and assimilate adaptive social skills. For instance,
while interacting with parents, children learn social rules
(e.g. turn-taking and negotiation strategies) as well as ways
to decode emotional cues (Guralnick, 1999). The quality of
parent–child interactions appears to have long-term effects
on social development for both typically developing chil-
dren and children with developmental disabilities
(McDowell and Parke, 2009; Skibbe et al., 2010). Although
many aspects of parent–child interactions may influence
the development of children’s social skills, our study
focused on the qualities of positive affect, emotional sup-
port, and cohesiveness.
Positive affect
Parent positive affect expressed during parent–child interac-
tions may be representative of the general emotional tone
demonstrated by parents. Indicators of positive affect include
smiling, using a positive tone of voice, and demonstrations
of affection (Lindahl and Malik, 2000). Parental expressivity
and warmth have been associated with typically developing
children’s social skills (Zhou et al., 2002) and appear to pre-
dict social outcomes both concurrently and 1-year later (Isley
et al., 1999). Isley and colleagues proposed that parent posi-
tive affect indirectly influences the development of social
skills through children’s use of positive affect in social situa-
tions. The authors suggested that parents model positive
affect in parent–child interactions, which is later imitated by
the child during interactions with peers.
Previous research comparing parental positive affect in
typically developing children and children with intellec-
tual disabilities found that whereas parental positive affect
predicted greater social skills for typically developing
children, it was unrelated to social skills in children
with intellectual disabilities (Green and Baker, 2011).
Additionally, this study found that children with intellec-
tual disabilities had fewer social skills and had interactions
with their parents that were characterized by less positive
displays of emotions than children in the typically devel-
oping group. No research to date has examined the influ-
ence of parental positive affect on social skills in children
with ASD.
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Emotional support
Emotional support reflects parents’ emotional attune-
ment toward their children and the ability of parents to
appropriately identify and respond to children’s emo-
tional cues (Lindahl and Malik, 2001). Carson and Parke
(1996) found that parents’ ability to respond contingently
to their children’s emotions and encourage emotion reg-
ulation predicted children’s social competence with
peers. Several studies suggest that emotional support
indirectly influences the development of social skills by
fostering emotional competence. For instance, Denham
et al. (1997) found that parents’ emotional support was
related to preschool children’s emotional competence,
which predicted children’s social skills. Few studies
have examined a similar link between parents’ respon-
siveness to children’s cues and early social skills in chil-
dren with ASD. Siller and Sigman (2008) found that the
parents’ synchrony (i.e. responsiveness) with children’s
behaviors during play interactions predicted language
development over time in children with autistic disorder.
Given the deficits in social and emotional competence
commonly associated with ASD, this may be an impor-
tant area of research for this group.
Cohesiveness of the parent–child
relationship
Cohesiveness represents a sense of closeness between
family members as demonstrated by the level of affec-
tion, warmth, comfort, and concern (Lindahl and Malik,
2001). Research suggests that family cohesiveness is
linked to social development in typically developing
children. Bennett and Hay (2007) found that cohesive-
ness predicted children’s development of social skills.
Similarly, Leidy et al. (2010) found that high cohesive-
ness, along with effective parental communication, pre-
dicted increases in children’s social skills (particularly,
social problem solving and self-efficacy) at a 9-month
follow-up. In contrast to research on typically develop-
ing children, there is little parallel research on this rela-
tion in children with ASD. Siller and Sigman (2008)
found that the responsive behaviors of both children
with autistic disorder and their parents contributed to the
quality of parent–child interactions and predicted chil-
dren’s later language development. Given that children
with ASD demonstrate considerable difficulty with
reciprocal interactions as well as initiating and maintain-
ing relationships (McConnell, 2002; Paul et al., 2009), it
seems likely that maintaining cohesiveness may be more
difficult during interactions between children with ASD
and their parents. Therefore, we expected that differ-
ences in children’s social skills would be partially
explained by levels of cohesiveness within parent–child
interactions.
294 Autism 18(3)

Table 1.  Demographic information by status group (n = 21).

TD sample ASD sample t/X2

Child variables  
  Gender (% male) 67 86 X2 = 2.1
  Ethnicity (% Caucasian) 91 57 X2 = 6.04**
 Average chronological age in 56.62 (10.48) 69.57 (11.14) t = −3.88**
months (SD)
  Verbal mental age in months (SD) 63.03(17.04) 69.58(14.80) t = −1.33
Family variables  
  Parent gender (% male) 10 5 X2 = .36
  Parent ethnicity (% Caucasian) 91 67 X2 = 3.54
 Parental education (% bachelor’s 91 67 X2 = 3.54
degree)
  Average annual salary (SD) 118,600 (118,800) 117,300 (122,800) t = .04

TD: typically developing; ASD: autism spectrum disorders.

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Current study self-regulation in young children. Participants were

recruited through local autism centers, special education
To our knowledge, no studies have examined the influence
programs, private and public schools, and through adver-
of parent–child interaction qualities on social skills in both
tisements placed in local magazines and listservs. The
typically developing children and children with ASD.
sample included 21 children diagnosed with ASD and 21
Additionally, no studies have examined whether these
typically developing children matched to children with
qualities might help explain observed differences in social
ASD on verbal mental age. Demographic information
skills between typically developing children and children
for the sample is included in Table 1. The two groups
with ASD. Research on the mediating role of parent–child
appear to be relatively similar on several demographic
interaction qualities may provide valuable information on
variables. However, the ASD sample was significantly
potential mechanisms influencing social skills develop-
older than the typically developing sample and was more
ment. If mediating processes are identified, these could be
ethnically diverse.
used to inform future social skills interventions for chil-
A number of eligibility criteria were required for inclu-
dren with and without ASD. In the current study, we used
sion in this study. Children were required to be between 3
a sample of 3- to 6-year-old typically developing children
years, 0 months and 6 years, 11 months of age. Children
and children with ASD to examine the role of several dif-
needed to demonstrate sufficient language skills that would
ferent aspects of parent–child interactions (i.e. positive
enable them to answer basic questions and follow three-
affect, emotional support, and cohesiveness) in children’s
step commands. Therefore, children from both groups were
social skills. We also investigated whether these variables
excluded if their verbal abilities were below a set minimum
mediated the relation between children’s developmental
criterion. Additionally, a screening measure ensured that
status and social skills. Based on previous research, we
children in the typically developing group did not exhibit
expected that
high levels of symptoms suggestive of ASD. Furthermore,
previous diagnoses of autistic disorder, Asperger’s disor-
1. Parent–child interaction qualities would be related
der, or pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise
to socials skills for both typically developing chil-
specified were confirmed for children in the ASD group.
dren and children with ASD, such that children who
experienced higher quality interactions would have
better socials skills;
Procedures
2. Parent–child interaction qualities would mediate Screening visit. Data for this study were collected over two
the relation between children’s developmental sta- visits. The first visit typically took place in families’
tus and social skills. homes. Children’s language abilities were assessed, and
parents completed a set of questionnaires, including a
screener for ASD symptoms during this visit. In addition,
Method parent consent was obtained to contact teachers for their
evaluation of children’s social skills. On average teachers
Participants
knew the participants for 12.37 months (SD = 9.37 months,
The participants included 42 children, their parents, and N = 26) at the time they were asked to complete the
teachers who took part in a larger study examining measures.

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Haven et al. 295
Experimental visit. If children met this study’s eligibility
requirements, they completed a second visit at the uni-
versity research laboratory. Parents and children were
videotaped as they looked at two wordless picture books
for 5 min. Although specific instruction was given
regarding which book to look at first, no other instruc-
tions were provided about how to look at the books
together.
Measures
Developmental status. A third-party service was contracted
to collect medical records in order to confirm ASD diag-
noses. This company specializes in record retrieval and
contacted diagnosing health providers to obtain original
diagnostic reports. Additionally, we distinguished the
two groups based on cutoff scores derived from parent
reports on the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC; Krug
et al., 1980). The ABC is a 56-item questionnaire that
assesses ASD symptoms. Previous research (e.g. Luteijn
et al., 2000) has demonstrated the utility of the ABC as a
screening instrument. This measure is composed of five
subscales with items presented in a forced-choice format
(Naar-King et al., 2004). A total score of 68 (0.5 SD
below the ASD sample mean) is considered the “high-
probability cut-off point for the classification of autism”
(Krug et al., 1993: 27).
Verbal mental age. The verbal reasoning cluster on the
Differential Abilities Scale–Version II (DAS-II; Elliott,
2007), consisting of the Verbal Comprehension and Nam-
ing Vocabulary subtests, was used to screen for verbal
abilities and to determine mental age for matching proce-
dures. The Verbal Comprehension and Naming Vocabu-
lary subtests of the DAS-II Early Years cognitive battery
are appropriate for children ages 2:6–6:11. Participants
were required to score above 85 on this cluster for inclu-
sion in this study.
Social skills. The Behavioral Assessment System for
Children–Preschool and Elementary Version 2, Teacher
Rating Scale (BASC-2-TRS; Reynolds and Kamphaus,
2004) was used to assess children’s social skills. The pre-
sent study used scores on the social skills subscale, which
consists of six items in the preschool version and eight
items in the elementary version. Teachers rated items on a
4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (almost
always).
Parent–child interaction qualities. Parent–child interaction
qualities were measured during the wordless book-reading
task, a procedure that has commonly been used to stimulate
interactions between parents and young children (LaBounty
et al., 2008). These sessions were videotaped and subse-
quently coded using three scales that were adapted from the
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System for Coding Interactions and Family Functioning
(SCIFF; Lindahl and Malik, 1996). For the purpose of our
study, we chose to focus on the individual parent codes of
positive affect and emotional support as well as the family
interaction code of cohesiveness. We adapted the coding
system to reflect behaviors that were relevant for a book-
reading task.
Parent–child interaction qualities were coded every
10-s intervals. Interactions were rated on a 5-point Likert
scale, ranging from 1 (very low) to 5 (high). The positive
affect code reflected parents’ emotional tone throughout
the parent–child interaction. Positive affect was opera-
tionalized as parents’ cheerful facial expressions, warm
or happy tone of voice, laughter, and physical displays of
affection such as hugging (Lindahl and Malik, 2000). The
emotional support code assessed parents’ attunement
toward their children, as characterized by their ability to
appropriately identify and respond to their children’s
emotional cues, interests, and desires. This code included
behaviors such as supporting the child’s ideas and desires
in storytelling (e.g. following the child’s lead or giving
praise) and validating children’s signs of disinterest or
dislike in the story. The parent–child cohesiveness code
evaluated the sense of closeness between family mem-
bers as demonstrated by the level of reciprocity between
parent and child, the degree of engagement and respon-
siveness, and mutual enjoyment within the interaction
(Lindahl and Malik, 2000). This code included behaviors
such as physical closeness (e.g. sitting on parent’s lap or
leaning in toward one another), mutual displays of affec-
tion or enjoyment (e.g. looking at one another or laugh-
ing together), and turn taking.
Prior to coding these interactions, coders trained for
approximately 2 months to establish reliability. In 12
instances, coders served in the role of the assessor for par-
ticipants and were not blind to participants’ developmental
status. Interrater reliability estimates for the parent positive
affect, emotional support, and parent–child cohesiveness
codes, calculated using intraclass correlation (ICC), were
.83, .81, and .87, respectively.
Planned analyses
Prior to data analysis, data were screened to ensure that
there were no missing data points or violations to the
assumptions of normality and independence. To test our
first hypothesis that parent–child interaction qualities
would be associated with social skills for both groups of
children, we separately regressed social skills on positive
affect, emotional support, and cohesiveness.
To test whether parent–child interaction qualities
mediated the relation between developmental status and
social skills, we conducted a series of multiple regression
models using a macro command to test mediation mod-
els that include covariates (Preacher and Hayes, 2008).
296 Autism 18(3)
Figure 1.  Significant mediation model paths (standardized coefficients).
ASD: autism spectrum disorders.
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.
We selected this method because it is robust to assump-
tions of normality, an assumption typically supported in
large samples. As such, this method is recommended for
use with small samples (Preacher and Hayes, 2008). This
method employs a bootstrap procedure in which the data
are sampled, with replacement, 5000 times. Following
the recommendations of researchers (e.g. Mallinckrodt
et al., 2006; Shrout and Bolger, 2002), bootstrap resam-
pling methods were used to test for the significance of
indirect effects in mediated models as statistical power is
maximized by computing nonsymmetric confidence
intervals and, thus, reducing the probability of Type II
error. A 95% bias-corrected and accelerated confidence
interval was estimated using the indirect effect coeffi-
cients generated from the 5000 resamples. When zero is
not included in the confidence interval, the mediation
model is considered significant at the error rate of α = .05
(Figure 1).
Results
Descriptive analyses
Correlations between all study variables for the total sam-
ple, typically developing subsample, and ASD subsample
are displayed in Table 2. Correlation analyses indicated
that both emotional support and cohesiveness were sig-
nificantly related to social skills for the total sample.
However, when examining the typically developing and
ASD subsamples separately, emotional support was not
significantly correlated with children’s social skills for
either group, and cohesiveness was related to social skills
only for the ASD group. Means, standard deviations,
t-tests, and effect sizes for study variables for each group
are reported in Table 3. Results demonstrated that levels
of positive affect and emotional support were not signifi-
cantly different between the typically developing and
ASD groups. However, the typically developing group
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had significantly higher levels of cohesiveness and social
skills than children with ASD.
Analysis of main effects
We tested the direct relation between the three parent–child
interaction variables (positive affect, emotional support, and
cohesiveness) and social skills by conducting three separate
hierarchical regression analyses. Control variables of child
ethnicity and gender were entered in the first block because
these variables were significantly related to social skills. In
the second block, the parent–child interaction variable was
entered. Results indicated that after controlling for covari-
ates, positive affect was not significantly related to social
skills (β = .13, p = .40, R2 = .21). In contrast, emotional sup-
port and cohesiveness were both significantly associated
with children’s social skills (β = .33, p = .02, R2 = .29; β =
.46, p = .00, R2 = .38, respectively). These findings suggest
that greater parental emotional support and parent–child
cohesiveness were significantly related to higher social
skills for the entire sample.
Mediation analyses
We examined three separate mediation models in which
the parent–child interaction qualities of positive affect,
emotional support, and cohesiveness were hypothesized to
mediate the relation between children’s developmental sta-
tus and social skills. Regression equations tested each
pathway in the mediation models, while controlling for
children’s ethnicity and gender.
We first tested the mediation model for parent positive
affect. Developmental status was significantly related to
social skills, β = −.58, t(41) = −4.43, p < .001; typically
developing participants demonstrated greater social skills
than those with ASD. However, developmental status
was not significantly associated with parent positive
affect, β = .05, t(41) = .28, p = .78. Positive affect did not
Haven et al. 297

Table 2.  Correlations among key variables.

Emotional support Cohesiveness Social skills

Total sample  
  Positive affect .18 .13 .05
  Emotional support .63*** .30*
 Cohesiveness .55***
TD sample  
  Positive affect .05 .36 .15
  Emotional support .33 .06
 Cohesiveness .25
ASD sample  
  Positive affect .35 .35 .21
  Emotional support .70*** .39
 Cohesiveness .54**

TD: typically developing; ASD: autism spectrum disorders.

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Table 3.  Means, standard deviations, and effect sizes for study variables by status (N = 42).

Variable TD ASD t D

M SD M SD
Positive affect  3.05 0.61  3.17 0.49 0.75 0.23
Emotional support  3.95 0.28  3.78 0.51 −1.31 −0.40
Cohesiveness  3.99 0.37  3.46 0.66 −3.17** −0.98
Social skills 56.38 9.50 42.14 7.18 −5.49*** 1.69

TD: typically developing; ASD: autism spectrum disorders.

*p < .05, ** p < .01, ***p < .001.

have a significant relation to social skills, β = .13, t(41) =
.85, p = .40. When positive affect was added into the
model, the direct effect of status on social skills was not
reduced and remained significant, β = −.59, t(41) = −4.51,
p < .001. The confidence interval for the effect of the
indirect pathway via positive affect included “0” (−0.53
to 1.07), indicating that positive affect was not a signifi-
cant mediator of the relation between status and social
skills.
We then tested the mediation model for parent emotional
support using the same procedure described above.
Developmental status was significantly associated with
social skills, β = −.58, t(41) = −4.43, p < .001, and showed
a trend toward being significantly related to emotional sup-
port, β = −.29, t(41) = −1.75, p = .09. This relation was
negative, indicating that there was tendency for parents of
children with ASD to show less emotional support than par-
ents of typically developing children. The path from emo-
tional support to social skills was significant; children who
experienced more emotional support had higher social
skills, β = .33, t(41) = 2.34, p = .02. With emotional support
in the model, the direct effect of status on social skills was
reduced although it remained significant, β = −.52, t(41) =
−3.91, p < .001. The confidence interval for this mediation
model included “0” (−2.19 to 0.17), indicating that emo-
tional support was not a significant mediator of the relation
between status and social skills.
Finally, we tested the mediation model for parent–child
cohesiveness. Developmental status was significantly
related to social skills, β = −.58, t(41) = −4.43, p < .001.
Additionally, the path between status and cohesiveness was
significant; children with ASD had less cohesive parent–
child interactions than typically developing children, β =
−.38, t(41) = −2.46, p = .02. Similarly, the path between
cohesiveness and social skills was significant; children who
engaged in parent–child interactions with higher cohesive-
ness had higher social skills, β = .46, t(41) = 3.34, p = .002.
With cohesiveness in the model, the direct effect of status on
social skills was significantly reduced although this was still
significant, β = −.47, t(41) = −3.5, p = .001. The confidence
interval did not include “0” (−3.50 to −0.04), indicating that
cohesiveness was a significant mediator of the relation
between status and social skills. The overall mediation
model accounted for 53% of the variance in social skills,
with the indirect effect of cohesiveness uniquely accounting
for 19% of the variance.

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298 Autism 18(3)
Discussion
This study examined the relations between developmen-
tal status, the quality of parent–child interactions, and
social skills in preschool children. The primary purpose
of this study was to examine the mediating effects of par-
ent–child interaction qualities on social skills among
young children with ASD and typically developing chil-
dren. Our hypothesis that parent–child interaction quali-
ties would be related to children’s social skills, regardless
of developmental status, was partially supported.
Emotional support and cohesiveness were significantly
associated with children’s social skills. Consistent with
previous studies (e.g. Bennett and Hay, 2007; Denham
et al., 1997; Guralnick, 1999; Leidy et al., 2010), we
found that higher levels of emotional support and cohe-
siveness within parent–child interactions were associated
with higher social skills among children. However, when
the groups were examined separately, parent–child inter-
actions were not significantly related to social skills for
typically developing children. In contrast, cohesiveness
was associated with social skills for children with ASD.
These findings suggest that cohesiveness within parent–
child interactions may be more influential on social skills
for children with ASD as compared to typically develop-
ing children.
We found partial support for our hypothesis that par-
ent–child interaction qualities would mediate the relation
between developmental status and social skills. Parent–
child cohesiveness partially mediated the relation between
status and social skills, whereas parent positive affect and
emotional support did not. This finding suggests that the
ability to engage in reciprocal interactions while working
toward a common goal and demonstrating a sense of
warmth and connectedness is related to children’s social
skills for both typically developing children and children
with ASD. Our findings indicated that interactions
between parents and children with ASD generally had
lower levels of cohesiveness than those of typically devel-
oping children and their parents. Given that children with
ASD often demonstrate difficulties in reciprocal interac-
tions, forming cohesive interactions may be more chal-
lenging for parents of these children. Because we found
that cohesiveness partially accounted for the relation
between developmental status and social skills, it seems
logical that this may be an area of potential intervention
for children with ASD.
It is interesting to note that of the three parent–child
interaction qualities, cohesiveness was the only one that
captured the way in which children and parents respond to
one another. The qualities of positive affect and emotional
support focused exclusively on behaviors specific to par-
ents and did not account for the observed group differences
in social skills. This pattern of findings suggests that when
investigating the contribution of parenting to the social
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skills of children with and without ASD, it may be more
informative to consider the bidirectional effects of parents
and children. More specifically, research should examine
parenting behaviors in the context of child characteristics
rather than focusing solely on parents’ contributions to
these interactions.
Strengths and limitations
This study investigated a group of children at significant
risk for continuing social problems and focused on parent-
ing qualities as a potential area of intervention. In addition
to the strengths of this study, its limitations should be noted.
First, our findings may lack generalizability to the larger
population due in part to the small sample size and sample
characteristics. Overall, the full sample exhibited consider-
able homogeneity with regard to key demographic varia-
bles, including socioeconomic status, parent sex, parent
education, and locale (i.e. urban vs rural). Our sample pre-
dominantly comprised Caucasian families with high socio-
economic status, and parents were almost exclusively
mothers. As a result, these findings may not be generaliza-
ble to fathers and individuals of other socioeconomic lev-
els, ethnicities, and geographic locations.
A second limitation rests in the utilization of the SCIFF
(Lindahl and Malik, 1996) coding system, which originally
examined family functioning during problem-solving and
conflict resolution discussions. We made several adapta-
tions to this coding system to account for the behaviors
observed during our wordless book-reading task. As such,
this coding system may not have captured important ele-
ments of this particular interaction for this sample of par-
ents and children.
Implications and future research
In this study, we sought to understand how interactions
between parents and children would relate to social skills
in children with and without ASD. To our knowledge, our
study is one of the few to examine the relation between
parent–child interaction qualities and social skills in chil-
dren with ASD. Given the increasing prevalence rates and
adverse outcomes across the life span associated with
ASD, our results are promising and may be used to inform
social interventions for children with this diagnosis. In
addition to teaching social skills to children, interventions
should include parents and place a particular emphasis on
building cohesiveness as well as increasing parent emo-
tional support within interactions with their children.
Future research should seek to identify other parent–child
interaction qualities that may influence social skills.
Additionally, a clearer understanding of how to develop
and sustain cohesiveness within interactions with these at-
risk children is required.
Haven et al. 299
Funding
This work was supported by a Seattle Pacific University Senior
Faculty Grant and a School of Psychology, Family & Community
Faculty Research Grant to the fourth author.
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