Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Oct;52(10):819-29.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01065.x. Epub 2008 Apr 27.

Prevalence and risk factors of maladaptive behaviour in young children with Autistic Disorder

S L Hartley  1 , D M Sikora, R McCoy
Affiliations

Prevalence and risk factors of maladaptive behaviour in young children with Autistic Disorder

S L Hartley et al. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2008 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Children with Autistic Disorder (AD) evidence more co-occurring maladaptive behaviours than their typically developing peers and peers with intellectual disability because of other aetiologies. The present study investigated the prevalence of Clinically Significant maladaptive behaviours during early childhood and identified at-risk subgroups of young children with AD.

Method: Parents rated their child's maladaptive behaviours on the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) in 169 children with AD aged 1.5 to 5.8 years.

Results: One-third of young children with AD had a CBCL Total Problems score in the Clinically Significant range. The highest percentage of Clinically Significant scores were in the Withdrawal, Attention, and Aggression CBCL syndrome scales. There was a high degree of co-morbidity of Clinically Significant maladaptive behaviours. Several subject characteristic risk factors for maladaptive behaviours were identified.

Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to include behavioural management strategies aimed at increasing social engagement, sustained attention and decreasing aggressive behaviour in comprehensive intervention programmes for young children with AD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of young children with Autistic Disorder with a Clinically Significant Child Behaviour Checklist Composite or syndrome scale score.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of Clinically Significant Child Behaviour Checklist syndrome scales exhibited by young children with Autistic Disorder.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Achenbach T, Rescorla L. Child Behavior Checklist. ASEBA; Burlington, VT: 2000.
    1. Akshoomoff N. Use of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning for the assessment of young children with autism spectrum disorders. Child Neuropsychology. 2006;12:269–77. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4. American Psychiatric Association Press; Washington, D.C: 2000. Text Revision.
    1. Bolte S, Dickhut H, Poustka F. Patterns of parent-rated problems indicative of autism. Psychopathology. 1999;32:93–7. - PubMed
    1. Bradley EA, Summers JA, Wood HL, Bryson SE. Comparing rates of psychiatric and behavior disorders in adolescents and young adults with severe intellectual disability with and without autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2004;34:151–61. - PubMed

MeSH terms