Parents’ involvement in their children's behavioral intervention programs: Parent and therapist perspectives

Although the need for active parent involvement in Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI) has been emphasized by professionals in the field, little research has explored this involvement or what it entails. A parent self-report questionnaire and a similar therapist questionnaire were designed for this study, in which parent Involvement and five variables believed to influence Involvement were operationalized and measured. The independent variables included: parents’ Self-efficacy; Knowledge of autism and IBI; Belief in IBI; Perception of Child Progress; and Stress. Forty-eight parents and 34 therapists completed questionnaires about parents’ involvement. Both similarities and discrepancies were noted between parent and therapist report. Parents’ Self-efficacy, Knowledge, and Belief in IBI were significantly correlated with their Involvement. Furthermore, according to parent report, Self-efficacy accounted for almost half of the variance in predicting Involvement, even when controlling for child characteristics. Clinical implications are discussed.