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Brief Report: The Association of Autistic Traits and Behavioural Patterns in Adolescents Receiving Special Educational Assistance

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Abstract

Introduction

The study aim was to describe behaviours associated with autistic traits.

Methods

The Childhood Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) were used as measures of behaviour and autistic traits respectively in 331 adolescents receiving educational support. CBCL scores were compared between three groups defined by SCQ score: autism, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and non-PDD.

Results

The PDD and autism groups had significantly higher scores on the CBCL than the non-PDD group across all CBCL scales except Delinquent Behaviour. On seven of the eight scales, there was no difference between the autism and PDD groups.

Conclusion

Those with PDD or autism display significantly higher levels of withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety/depression, social, thought and attention problems, and aggressive behaviour.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all of the study participants and their families, without whom this study would not have been possible. This study was supported by a programme grant from the UK Medical Research Council (G0100102). ECJ, DGCO and ACS collected the original study data; ARR, ACS and AGM conducted the analyses; ARR, ACS and AGM wrote the manuscript with input from all authors.

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Correspondence to Andrew G. McKechanie.

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Paul, A.R., McKechanie, A.G., Johnstone, E.C. et al. Brief Report: The Association of Autistic Traits and Behavioural Patterns in Adolescents Receiving Special Educational Assistance. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3055–3060 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2445-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2445-2

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