Dataset Information

Emotional functioning and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in young boys with and without autism spectrum disorder.

ABSTRACT: Children with autism spectrum disorder are at risk of developing internalizing and externalizing problems. However, information on early development of behavior problems and the contributing role of emotional functioning in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder is scarce. This study collected data of boys with and without autism spectrum disorder (N?=?156; age: 2-6?years) over three consecutive years (three waves), about their internalizing and externalizing symptoms and emotional functioning (i.e. emotion control, recognition, and vocabulary), using parent-report questionnaires. No age effect was found on internalizing or externalizing problems for boys with and without autism spectrum disorder. Boys with autism spectrum disorder displayed more behavior problems than their typically developing peers and showed lower levels of emotional functioning. Better emotion control and improved emotion recognition were associated with a decrease in problem behaviors for boys with and without autism spectrum disorder, whereas improved emotion vocabulary was uniquely related to a decrease in externalizing problems in boys with autism spectrum disorder. Our findings suggest that boys with and without autism spectrum disorder showed similar developmental courses of internalizing and externalizing problems. However, lower levels of emotional functioning were already more pronounced in boys with autism spectrum disorder at a young age. This contributes to higher levels of behavior problems.

SUBMITTER: Li B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6927076 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Emotional functioning and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in young boys with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Li Boya B Bos Marieke Gn MG Stockmann Lex L Rieffe Carolien C

Autism : the international journal of research and practice 20190924 1

Children with autism spectrum disorder are at risk of developing internalizing and externalizing problems. However, information on early development of behavior problems and the contributing role of emotional functioning in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder is scarce. This study collected data of boys with and without autism spectrum disorder (<i>N</i> = 156; age: 2-6 years) over three consecutive years (three waves), about their internalizing and externalizing symptoms and emotio ...[more]

PMID: 31549858

Similar Datasets

Project description:The development of child mental health problems has been associated with experiences of adversity and dysregulation of stress response systems; however, past research has largely focused on externalizing or internalizing problems (rather than their co-occurrence) and single physiological systems in high-risk adolescent samples. The present study examined whether cumulative family adversity, functioning in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (i.e., cortisol) and the parasympathetic nervous system (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]), and their interactions, predicted trajectories of co-occurring externalizing and internalizing problems among young children. Participants included 338 socioeconomically and racially diverse children (M age = 5.32 years, SD = .32; male = 51.8%) from a community sample. Family adversity (assessed with six measures) and child daily cortisol output and resting RSA were assessed in kindergarten. Parents, teachers, and children reported on children's externalizing and internalizing psychopathology up to three times from kindergarten to grade 1. Latent class growth analyses identified stable trajectories of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. Trajectories were combined to create groups: co-occurring externalizing and internalizing (13.1%), externalizing-only (14.0%), internalizing-only (11.3%), and low problems (61.3%). Family adversity and resting RSA significantly positively predicted co-occurring group membership. Tests for interactions showed adversity did not significantly interact with physiological indicators to predict group membership. However, the two physiological systems interacted, such that higher and lower daily cortisol predicted internalizing group membership for children with lower and higher resting RSA, respectively. Findings support the importance of considering family context and multiple physiological systems to inform understanding of the development of mental health problems, and their co-occurrence, in early childhood.

Project description:BackgroundSymptoms of anxiety and depression are common mental health problems in children and are often referred to as internalizing symptoms. Youth with such symptoms are at greater risk for poor academic achievement, school non-completion, and future mental health problems, all of which, lead to public health consequences and costs to society. The aim of the current study was to investigate associations between young school children's internalizing symptoms and school functioning, as assessed separately by the teachers and the children.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional study including children (N = 750. 58% girls) from the ages of 8-12 years with elevated levels of self-reported symptoms of anxiety (MASC-C) and/or depression (SMFQ). Teachers reported the academic achievement, school adaptation (TRF) and internalizing symptoms (BPM-T) of the children. Associations were analyzed using linear regression analyses.ResultsBoth teacher-reported internalizing symptoms and children's self-reported depressive symptoms were associated with poor academic achievement and school adaptation, while self-reported symptoms of anxiety were not. Symptoms of depression as assessed by the children were associated with teacher-rated internalizing symptoms, while self-reported symptoms of anxiety were not.ConclusionWe found negative associations between school functioning and internalizing symptoms, as assessed by both the teachers and the children. The dual findings strengthen the validity of these relationships. Thus, prevention of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children may lead to positive changes in school domains such as academic achievement and school adaptation. We also identified a negative association between teacher-rated internalizing symptoms and children's self-report of depressive symptoms, indicating that teachers may have difficulties recognizing children with these symptoms.Trial registrationClinical Trials NCT02340637, Registered on June 12, 2014, Retrospectively registered.

Project description:Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), characterized by impairments in social communication and repetitive behaviors, often includes altered responses to sensory inputs as part of its phenotype. The neurobiological basis for altered sensory processing is not well understood. The UC Davis Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute Autism Phenome Project is a longitudinal, multidisciplinary study of young children with ASD and age-matched typically developing (TD) controls. Previous analyses of the magnetic resonance imaging data from this cohort have shown that ?15% of boys with ASD have disproportionate megalencephaly (DM) or brain size to height ratio, that is 1.5 standard deviations above the TD mean. Here, we investigated electrophysiological responses to auditory stimuli of increasing intensity (50-80?dB) in young toddlers (27-48?months old). Analyses included data from 36 age-matched boys, of which 24 were diagnosed with ASD (12 with and 12 without DM; ASD-DM and ASD-N) and 12 TD controls. We found that the two ASD subgroups differed in their electrophysiological response patterns to sounds of increasing intensity. At early latencies (55-115?ms), ASD-N does not show a loudness-dependent response like TD and ASD-DM, but tends to group intensities by soft vs. loud sounds, suggesting differences in sensory sensitivity in this group. At later latencies (145-195?ms), only the ASD-DM group shows significantly higher amplitudes for loud sounds. Because no similar effects were found in ASD-N and TD groups, this may be related to their altered neuroanatomy. These results contribute to the effort to delineate ASD subgroups and further characterize physiological responses associated with observable phenotypes. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1236-1250. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Approximately 15% of boys with ASD have much bigger brains when compared to individuals with typical development. By recording brain waves (electroencephalography) we compared how autistic children, with or without big brains, react to sounds compared to typically developing controls. We found that brain responses in the big-brained group are different from the two other groups, suggesting that they represent a specific autism subgroup.

Dataset Information

Emotional functioning and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in young boys with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Publications

Emotional functioning and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in young boys with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets