Article

Temperament as a predictor of symptomotology and adaptive functioning in adolescents with high-functioning autism.

Department of Psychology, University of Miami, 5665 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA.
Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia (impact factor: 3.06). 02/2009; 39(6):842-55. DOI:10.1007/s10803-009-0690-y pp.842-55
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Variation in temperament is characteristic of all people but is rarely studied as a predictor of individual differences among individuals with autism. Relative to a matched comparison sample, adolescents with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) reported lower levels of Surgency and higher levels of Negative Affectivity. Variability in temperament predicted symptomotology, social skills, and social-emotional outcomes differently for individuals with HFA than for the comparison sample. This study is unique in that temperament was measured by self-report, while all outcome measures were reported by parents. The broader implications of this study suggest that by identifying individual variability in constructs, such as temperament, that may influence adaptive functioning, interventions may be developed to target these constructs and increase the likelihood that individuals with HFA will achieve more adaptive life outcomes.

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    Article: Social attribution processes and comorbid psychiatric symptoms in children with Asperger syndrome.
    Jessica A Meyer, Peter C Mundy, Amy Vaughan Van Hecke, Jennifer Stella Durocher
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    ABSTRACT: The factors that place children with Asperger syndrome at risk for comorbid psychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, remain poorly understood. We investigated the possibility that the children's emotional and behavioral difficulties are associated with social information and attribution processing. Participants were children with either Asperger syndrome (n = 31) or typical development (n = 33).To assess social information and attribution processing, children responded to hypothetical social vignettes. They also completed self-report measures of social difficulties and psychological functioning. Their parents provided information on social competence and clinical presentation. Children with Asperger syndrome showed poor psychosocial adjustment, which was related to their social information and attribution processing patterns. Cognitive and social-cognitive abilities were associated with aspects of social information processing tendencies, but not with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Results suggest that the comorbid symptoms of children with Asperger syndrome may be associated with their social perception, understanding, and experience.
    Autism 08/2006; 10(4):383-402. · 2.27 Impact Factor
Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

adaptive life outcomes
 
autism
 
constructs
 
High-Functioning Autism
 
identifying individual variability
 
individual differences
 
interventions
 
matched comparison sample
 
Negative Affectivity
 
outcome measures
 
predictor
 
self-report
 
social-emotional outcomes
 
Surgency
 
symptomotology
 
temperament