Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · Nov 2012
Comparative StudyAre autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder different manifestations of one overarching disorder? Cognitive and symptom evidence from a clinical and population-based sample.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occur. Given the heterogeneity of both disorders, several more homogeneous ASD-ADHD comorbidity subgroups may exist. The current study examined whether such subgroups exist, and whether their overlap or distinctiveness in associated comorbid symptoms and cognitive profiles gives support for a gradient overarching disorder hypothesis or a separate disorders hypothesis. ⋯ The overlapping cognitive deficits may be used to further unravel the shared etiological underpinnings of ASD and ADHD, and the nonoverlapping deficits may indicate why some children develop ADHD despite their enhanced risk for ASD. The two subtypes of children with both ASD and ADHD behavior will most likely benefit from different clinical approaches.
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J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · Oct 2012
Comparative StudySchizophrenia spectrum and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in autism spectrum disorder and controls.
This study compared the differential severity of specific symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and child psychiatry outpatient referrals (controls). Each group was further subdivided into subgroups with and without co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ⋯ Findings provide additional support for an interrelation between ASD and SSD symptoms and the differential influence of neurobehavioral syndromes on co-occurring symptom severity, underscore the multidimensionality of SSD in children with ASD, and suggest how symptom phenotypes may contribute to a better understanding of the etiology, nosology, and possibly clinical management.
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J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · Jul 2012
Maternal early life experiences and parenting: the mediating role of cortisol and executive function.
Research suggests that early life adversity may affect subsequent parenting. Animal studies investigating mechanisms of transmission have focused on biological factors; whereas research in humans has emphasized cognitive and psychosocial factors. We hypothesized that neuropsychological and physiological factors would act as mediators between maternal retrospective reports of early life experiences (ELE) and current parenting. ⋯ These findings provide support for the notion that mediators linking early life experiences to parenting in humans may be similar to physiological mechanisms found in animal models. As maternal care is associated with numerous infant outcomes, our findings may have broad relevance to understanding the risk associated with parenting and adverse outcomes in infants. A greater understanding of mechanism is important to informing interventions targeted at disrupting maladaptive trajectories of parenting.