The Parents Project
What we want to find out
This study aims to understand whether parents’ thinking styles are linked to different aspects of their children’s development. Specifically, we are interested in two psychological traits in parents: systemising (the drive to understand patterns and how things work) and empathising (the ability to understand and respond to other people’s thoughts and feelings). Everyone shows these traits to different degrees, and they can be measured using well-established questionnaires.
By looking at parents’ systemising and empathising profiles and comparing them with information about their children, we aim to explore whether certain developmental outcomes – including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, giftedness, and language or motor delay – are more common in families with particular thinking styles. Because these traits are partly inherited, this research may help us better understand how strengths and challenges develop across generations, and how families might be supported as children grow and thrive.
Why we are doing this research
We want to address an important research gap by examining whether parents’ thinking styles are associated with patterns of neurodevelopmental differences in their children. By studying these links in large, diverse samples of families, we aim to move beyond single diagnoses and towards a more nuanced understanding of both challenges and strengths. Ultimately, this knowledge could help inform earlier identification, more tailored support, and a strengths-based approach that better reflects real diversity among children and families.
Method
This project uses an anonymous online survey to collect information about parents’ backgrounds (such as education and occupation) and psychological traits (specifically systemising and empathising). Parents are also asked to provide general information about their children’s traits and development.
This information will be used to test whether parents’ systemising and empathising profiles are associated with different developmental outcomes in their children, including neurodevelopmental differences and areas of strength such as giftedness. By analysing these relationships across many families, the research aims to identify patterns that may help explain how certain traits and developmental pathways cluster within families.
Community engagement
Members of the Cambridge Autism Research Database Community Engagement Panel were invited to review all study documents to ensure that the explanations were clear and all study items were acceptable. Study documents and the survey items were revised as a result of this feedback.
Potential impact
By exploring how parental thinking styles among parents relate to different developmental pathways in children, the findings from this study could improve our understanding of how children’s strengths and challenges develop within families. This knowledge may help shift conversations away from a narrow focus on diagnoses toward a more balanced, strengths-based view that recognises both abilities and support needs.
Results
We anticipate sharing the results in 2026. When ready, the key findings will be shared on this page.