Predictive value of subclinical autistic traits at age 14–15 months for behavioural and cognitive problems at age 3–5 years

It is unclear whether subclinical autistic traits at very young age are transient or stable, and have clinical relevance. This study investigated the relationship between early subclinical autistic traits and the occurrence of later developmental and behavioural problems as well as problems in cognitive and language functioning. Parents of infants aged 14–15 months from the general population completed the Early Screening of Autistic Traits Questionnaire (ESAT). Three groups of children with high, moderate, and low ESAT-scores (total n = 103) were selected. Follow-up assessments included the CBCL 1½–5 at age 3 years, and the SCQ, the ADI-R, the ADOS-G, a non-verbal intelligence test, and language tests for comprehension and production at age 4–5 years. None of the children met criteria for autism spectrum disorder at follow-up. Children with high ESAT-scores at 14–15 months showed significantly more internalizing and externalizing problems at age 3 years and scored significantly lower on language tests at age 4–5 years than children with moderate or low ESAT-scores. Further, significantly more children with high ESAT-scores (14/26, 53.8%) than with moderate and low ESAT-scores (5/36, 13.9% and 1/41, 2.4%, respectively) were in the high-risk/clinical range on one or more outcome domains (autistic symptoms, behavioural problems, cognitive and language abilities). Subclinical autistic traits at 14–15 months predict later behavioural problems and delays in cognitive and language functioning rather than later ASD-diagnoses. The theoretical implications of the findings lie in the pivotal role of early social and communication skills for the development of self-regulation of emotions and impulses. The practical implications bear on the early recognition of children at risk for behavioural problems and for language and cognitive problems

Multiple Determinants of Externalizing Behavior in 5-Year-Olds: A Longitudinal Model

In a community sample of 116 children, assessments of parent-child interaction, parent-child attachment, and various parental, child, and contextual characteristics at 15 and 28 months and at age 5 were used to predict externalizing behavior at age 5, as rated by parents and teachers. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis and path analysis yielded a significant longitudinal model for the prediction of age 5 externalizing behavior, with independent contributions from the following predictors: child sex, partner support reported by the caregiver, disorganized infant-parent attachment at 15 months, child anger proneness at 28 months, and one of the two parent-child interaction factors observed at 28 months, namely negative parent-child interactions. The other, i.e., a lack of effective guidance, predicted externalizing problems only in highly anger-prone children. Furthermore, mediated pathways of influence were found for the parent-child interaction at 15 months (via disorganized attachment) and parental ego-resiliency (via negative parent-child interaction at 28 months)

Protocol of the Healthy Brain Study: An accessible resource for understanding the human brain and how it dynamically and individually operates in its bio-social context

The endeavor to understand the human brain has seen more progress in the last few decades than in the previous two millennia. Still, our understanding of how the human brain relates to behavior in the real world and how this link is modulated by biological, social, and environmental factors is limited. To address this, we designed the Healthy Brain Study (HBS), an interdisciplinary, longitudinal, cohort study based on multidimensional, dynamic assessments in both the laboratory and the real world. Here, we describe the rationale and design of the currently ongoing HBS. The HBS is examining a population-based sample of 1,000 healthy participants (age 30-39) who are thoroughly studied across an entire year. Data are collected through cognitive, affective, behavioral, and physiological testing, neuroimaging, bio-sampling, questionnaires, ecological momentary assessment, and real-world assessments using wearable devices. These data will become an accessible resource for the scientific community enabling the next step in understanding the human brain and how it dynamically and individually operates in its bio-social context. An access procedure to the collected data and bio-samples is in place and published on https://www.healthybrainstudy.nl/en/data-and-methods. https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/795

Protocol of the Healthy Brain Study: An accessible resource for understanding the human brain and how it dynamically and individually operates in its bio-social context

The endeavor to understand the human brain has seen more progress in the last few decades than in the previous two millennia. Still, our understanding of how the human brain relates to behavior in the real world and how this link is modulated by biological, social, and environmental factors is limited. To address this, we designed the Healthy Brain Study (HBS), an interdisciplinary, longitudinal, cohort study based on multidimensional, dynamic assessments in both the laboratory and the real world. Here, we describe the rationale and design of the currently ongoing HBS. The HBS is examining a population-based sample of 1,000 healthy participants (age 30-39) who are thoroughly studied across an entire year. Data are collected through cognitive, affective, behavioral, and physiological testing, neuroimaging, bio-sampling, questionnaires, ecological momentary assessment, and real-world assessments using wearable devices. These data will become an accessible resource for the scientific community enabling the next step in understanding the human brain and how it dynamically and individually operates in its bio-social context. An access procedure to the collected data and bio-samples is in place and published on https://www.healthybrainstudy.nl/en/data-and-methods/access. Trail registration: https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/7955

Screening for autistic spectrum in children aged 14 to 15 months. I: the development of the Early Screening of Autistic Traits Questionnaire (ESAT).

Contains fulltext : 50179.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)This article describes the development of a screening instrument for young children. Screening items were tested first in a non-selected population of children aged 8-20 months (n = 478). Then, parents of children with clinically diagnosed ASD (n = 153, average age 87 months) or ADHD (n = 76, average age 112 months) were asked to score the items retrospectively for when their child was 14 months old. A 14-item screening instrument, Early Screening of Autistic Traits (ESAT) which had maximal sensitivity and specificity for ASD was developed. The sensitivity of the ESAT was checked in an independent sample of 34 children aged 16-48 months clinically diagnosed with ASD. A 4-item version appears to be a promising prescreening instrument

Joint attention and attachment in toddlers with autism.

Contains fulltext : 52011.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Joint attention is often referred to as a triadic relation between self, other and object. Young children with autism show deficiencies in the use of joint attention behaviors. Individual differences may be expected, and they may be determined by the children's cognitive development or the characteristics of the relationship of the child with the caregiver. Although most joint attention skills develop under the age of three, most studies of joint attention in children with autism involved children older than 3 years of age, due to difficulties in diagnosing autism under this age. In this study we investigated joint attention behaviors of 78 young children (mean age 25.7 months, SD 6.1) with autism spectrum disorders (n = 20), other developmental delays (n = 18), and typically developing children (n = 40). Following the pertinent literature and confirmed by factor analysis, two types of joint attention behaviors were distinguished, Basic Joint Attention (BJA) and Associated Joint Attention (AJA). We found that cognitive delays and autistic symptoms-but not attachment insecurity or disorganization-were related to less joint attention. Already at the age of 2 years, children with more autistic symptoms show less joint attention, even after controlling for developmental level

Attachment in toddlers with autism and other developmental disorders.

Contains fulltext : 52066.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Attachment was assessed in toddlers with Autistic Disorder (n=20), Pervasive Developmental Disorder (n=14), Mental Retardation (n=12), Language Development Disorder (n=16), and a non-clinical comparison group (n=18), using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Children in the clinical groups were more often disorganized and less often securely attached. Severity of autism was associated with more attachment insecurity, and lower developmental level increased the chance for disorganized attachment. Attachment disorganization was related to increased heart rate during the SSP. Controlling for basal cortisol and developmental level, more autistic symptoms predicted lower cortisol responses to the SSP. The findings support the importance of disorganized attachment for children with autism