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Personality traits in parents of people with autism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Susan O'Hanrahan ,
Michael Fitzgerald  and
Myra O'Regan
Susan O'Hanrahan
Affiliation:
Clwydian Community Care Trust, Catherine Gladstone House, Mancot, Deeside CH5 2EP, Wales
Myra O'Regan
Affiliation:
Dept of Statistics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Abstract

Objectives: This study set out to explore if there were measurable personality characteristics specific to parents of people with autism.

Method: Parents of 12 people with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of autism presented for the study. Each of the people with autism were matched where possible with a counterpart without autism but with a lifelong disability on parameters of age, sex and IQ level. Parents of the ‘autism’ and ‘non-autism’ groups were then interviewed in detail using four personality assessment instruments. Scores were tabulated for both mothers and fathers in each group and intergroup comparisons were made.

Results: No significant personality profile difference was identifiable between the two parental groups.

Conclusions: Personality traits specific to parents of people with autism are not identifiable in this study thus casting doubt on the validity of personality phenotypes as measurable heritability factors in autism.

Keywords

AutismPersonality traitsParents
Type
Brief Reports
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 1999 , pp. 59 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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