Investigating the Role of Parent Characteristics and Parent-Child Interaction in the Development of Children at Elevated Likelihood for Autism

The importance of creating optimal parent-child interactions has been noted in the context of prodromal autism. However, little consideration has been given to the possible contributing role of parent characteristics in parent-child interactions and child developmental outcomes. The current thesis sought to examine the associations between parent characteristics, such as broader autism phenotype and psychological distress, parent-child interaction behaviours, and child autism behaviours cross-sectionally, as well as longitudinally, with the aim to propose a novel pre-emptive parent-mediated intervention delivered in groups with the focus on improving parent-child interactions.