Baron-Cohen S
Department of Psychology, University of London, UK.
Br J Clin Psychol. 1989 Sep;28(3):193-200. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1989.tb01369.x.
Autistic children are frequently reported to show obsessions and compulsions. This terminology implies that such behaviours in autism are similar to those seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, these autistic behaviours fail to satisfy the definitions of either obsessions or compulsions, because essential subjective data (relating to unwantedness, distress, resistance, senselessness and egodystonia) are not available in the case of autistic children. Recent cognitive evidence suggests that this is because autistic children are unable to contemplate or talk about their own mental states. Because of this state of insufficient evidence, it is suggested that the terms obsession and compulsion should be used with considerable caution to describe autistic behaviours. In this paper, the more descriptive term 'repetitive activities' is used. To gain a better understanding of such repetitive activities in autism, functional analyses are needed. Examples of such analyses are discussed, and predictions from a social-cognitive deficit theory of repetitive activities are specifically considered. The paper aims to encourage research into this neglected area.
据报道，自闭症儿童经常表现出强迫观念和强迫行为。这种说法意味着自闭症中的此类行为与强迫症中所见的行为相似。然而，这些自闭症行为并不符合强迫观念或强迫行为的定义，因为在自闭症儿童的案例中无法获得基本的主观数据（与不必要性、痛苦、抵抗、无意义和自我矛盾有关）。最近的认知证据表明，这是因为自闭症儿童无法思考或谈论自己的心理状态。由于证据不足的这种情况，有人建议在描述自闭症行为时应极其谨慎地使用强迫观念和强迫行为这两个术语。在本文中，使用了更具描述性的术语“重复活动”。为了更好地理解自闭症中的此类重复活动，需要进行功能分析。讨论了此类分析的示例，并特别考虑了重复活动的社会认知缺陷理论的预测。本文旨在鼓励对这一被忽视领域的研究。
