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Predictors of Psychiatric Symptoms in Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

This study examined mental health risk/protective factors for DSM-IV psychiatric symptoms in children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their contribution to functioning separate from ASD symptom severity. Mothers/teachers completed measures of risk/protection and social, adaptive, and school functioning in 6- to 12-year-olds with a diagnosed ASD (N = 238). Bivariate correlations and simultaneous regression analyses indicated a unique pattern of predictors for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, aggression, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Moreover, psychiatric symptoms differentially predicted social and school performance. Findings indicate that co-occurring psychiatric symptoms and their associated mental health risk/protective factors may have important clinical implications and generally support a biopsychosocial model of psychopathology in children with an ASD that appears to share many similarities with models for nonASD children.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported, in part, by a grant from the Matt and Debra Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders. The authors wish to thank Dr. John Pomeroy, M.D., for directing the ASD diagnoses. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the very helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers in the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Putnam Hall-South Campus, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-8790, USA

    Kenneth D. Gadow & Jayne Schneider

  2. Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Carla DeVincent

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  1. Kenneth D. Gadow
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  2. Carla DeVincent
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Correspondence to Kenneth D. Gadow.

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Gadow, K.D., DeVincent, C. & Schneider, J. Predictors of Psychiatric Symptoms in Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 1710–1720 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0556-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0556-8

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