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The broad autism phenotype in real-life: clinical and functional correlates of autism spectrum symptoms and rumination among parents of patients with autism spectrum disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2019

Barbara Carpita Open the ORCID record for Barbara Carpita [Opens in a new window] ,
Claudia Carmassi ,
Sara Calderoni ,
Dario Muti ,
Alessia Muscarella ,
Gabriele Massimetti ,
Ivan M. Cremone ,
Camilla Gesi ,
Eugenia Conti  and
Filippo Muratori
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Barbara Carpita*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Claudia Carmassi
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Sara Calderoni
Affiliation:
Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Dario Muti
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Alessia Muscarella
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Gabriele Massimetti
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Ivan M. Cremone
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Camilla Gesi
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Eugenia Conti
Affiliation:
Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Filippo Muratori
Affiliation:
Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Liliana Dell’Osso
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
*
*Barbara Carpita, MD, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine Section of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective

Increasing literature reported higher rates of psychiatric disorders in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as of autistic-like features in social and cognitive functioning. However, little attention has been paid to the association between autistic traits (AT) and global functioning in this population. The aim of the present work was to investigate clinical and functional correlates of AT among parents of ASD children, with a specific focus on ruminative thinking.

Methods

One hundred and twenty parents of ASD children were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum), the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS).

Results

Subjects with at least 1 psychiatric disorder (39.2%) showed significantly higher AdAS Spectrum and RRS scores. Subjects with a history of school difficulties and with language development alterations scored significantly higher on specific AdAS Spectrum domains. A significant negative correlation was found between SOFAS and AdAS Spectrum scores, as well as between SOFAS and RRS scores. AdAS Spectrum nonverbal communication domain score was identified has a statistically predictive variable for the presence of psychiatric disorders and lower SOFAS scores. Finally, we found a significant indirect effect of AdAS total score on SOFAS score, which was fully mediated by RRS total score.

Conclusions

AT in parents of ASD children seem to be associated with a higher vulnerability toward psychopathology and with a lower global functioning. Ruminative thinking may play a role in the relationship between AT and functional outcome.

Keywords

Broad autism phenotyperuminative thinkingsubthreshold autism spectrumglobal functioningparents
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 25 , Issue 6 , December 2020 , pp. 765 - 773
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

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