Citation

Sullivan MO, Gallagher L, Heron EA. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, School of Medicine, The Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 8, Ireland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10803-019-04129-3

PMID

31292900

Abstract

Aggressive behaviour is a significant issue for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet our understanding is limited compared to aggression in typically developing populations. This study examined behavioural, adaptive and cognitive data provided by the Simons Simplex Collection (N = 2184) to identify behavioural subgroups in children and adolescents with ASD using latent profile analysis.

RESULTS showed five subgroups that differed with regards to behavioural severity, IQ and adaptive behaviour. In two profiles with higher aggression, individuals had greater comorbid anxiety symptoms and attentional deficits and also differed in adaptive behaviour and IQ. These results identify potentially important avenues for research in aggressive behaviour in ASD.

Language: en

Keywords

Aggression; Anxiety; Autism spectrum disorder; Child behaviour checklist; IQ; Latent profile analysis