Early years’ parenting in families where the child has an intellectual disability is the focus of the proposed project. Early years’ parenting is a principal component of many intervention approaches both for its potential for modification and its far-reaching impact on future outcomes.

The project will use data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study to describe parenting and family experiences during the early years (3 to 5 years) and understand how these early life experiences relate to behaviour problems and social skills of children with an intellectual disability later in childhood (ages 7 and 11 years). In particular, we will examine the relationship between parenting and parental mental health, and the relationship between parental investments and stressful family circumstances. The project is funded by the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund.