Abstract

The research provides insight into the main dimensions and aspects of behavior of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder with regard to the presence/absence of challenging behavior patterns in children, according to the parents’ self-assessment. The research was conducted on a sample of N=121 parents of children with autism spectrum disorder from the Croatian region of Dalmatia. The results indicate the presence of such parental behaviors as restrictive control and punishment when challenging behaviours are present. On the other hand, the parents whose children do not exhibit challenging behaviors give their child more autonomy, have greater parental knowledge and apply inductive reasoning. The discussion section of the paper emphasizes the importance of parents’ personal characteristics and partnerships, the quality of support, scientifically based interventions, and parental knowledge for parental behavior. Guidelines for empowering parents on effective interventions in cases of challenging behaviors, desirable determinants and aspects of parental behavior, work on personal growth and the quality of relationships are proposed along with suggestions for future research as well as limitations of the conducted research.