| Preparation of children for adult roles and independent living is of concern to occupational therapists yet we know little about how these processes occur over time. Much of children's preparation for independent living occurs in the home through gradual transfer of responsibility from the parent to the child. Participation in household tasks is one way to begin to examine how parents prepare their children for independent living and also to further our understanding of family occupations. Thus, three studies were designed for this dissertation to examine children's participation in household tasks. The first study involved validation of a measure of children's participation in house tasks called the CHORES. This 34-item parent-report measure examines performance and assistance in two categories of household tasks: Self-Care where the outcomes influences the individual and Family-care where the outcomes influence others. The CHORES has excellent stability (r = .93) and internal consistency (r = .88). The second study examined patterns of participation for school-aged children with and without ADHD. Twenty-two parents of children with ADHD and 23 parents of children without ADHD participated in the study. Performance patterns for both groups of children were not significantly different, however, children with ADHD required significantly more assistance to participate in household tasks ( t(39) = 4.06, p < .00). In addition, both groups of children required more assistance to perform Self-Care versus Family-Care household tasks.;Predictors of children's participation in household tasks were the foci for the third study. Grade, presence of an older sibling, and the importance of family routines to the parent predicted children's performance scores. Presence of ADHD, presence of an older sibling, and parental personal stress predicted children's assistance scores. Thus, child, parental and environmental factors influenced children's participation in household tasks. These studies further our understanding of family occupations and the social processes that parents who have children with ADHD develop to support their family routines and their children's participation in household tasks. In turn, we can explore how participation in household tasks prepares children for independent living. Suggestions are offered for further research and for intervention strategies that may benefit children with ADHD and their families. |
