Macari Suzanne L, Koller Judah, Campbell Daniel J, Chawarska Katarzyna
Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2017 Jul;58(7):819-828. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12710. Epub 2017 Mar 20.
Although temperament has been recognized as an important contributor to childhood psychopathology, its role in emergent autism spectrum phenotypes is not well understood. This study examined whether toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display temperamental vulnerabilities compared to toddlers with other developmental challenges, whether these characteristics are distinct from core autism symptoms, if they are stable over time, and if they contribute to social outcomes in preschool.
Parents of 165 toddlers with ASD, 58 nonverbal ability- and chronological age- (CA) matched developmentally delayed (DD) toddlers, and 92 CA-matched typically developing (TD) toddlers completed the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire-Supplemental (TBAQ-S) at 26 months (SD = 6; Time 1). TBAQ-S data were also available for a subset of toddlers with ASD (n = 126) at 43 months (SD = 9; Time 2).
Compared to the DD and TD groups, toddlers with ASD exhibited vulnerabilities within the Effortful Control domain as well as the Surgency domain. They also displayed greater Negative Emotionality compared to TD peers. In the ASD group, temperamental characteristics were not concurrently related to autism severity or developmental level and individual differences were highly stable over time. Changes in Perceptual Sensitivity, Inhibitory Control, and Low-Intensity Pleasure from age 2 to 3.5 uniquely predicted autism symptom severity and adaptive social skill level at Time 2.
Temperamental vulnerabilities in toddlers with ASD are stable over time and involve attentional and behavioral control as well as affective reactivity. They contribute uniquely to social outcomes in preschool and are likely to signal risk for developing later maladaptive attentional, affective, and behavioral symptoms. Considering biologically based dimensions may shed light on noncore facets of the early ASD phenotype that are potentially relevant to the emergence of comorbid conditions later in childhood.
尽管气质被认为是儿童精神病理学的一个重要因素，但其在自闭症谱系障碍早期表型中的作用尚未得到充分理解。本研究调查了与患有其他发育障碍的幼儿相比，患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的幼儿是否表现出气质方面的脆弱性，这些特征是否与自闭症核心症状不同，它们是否随时间稳定，以及它们是否对学龄前儿童的社交结果有影响。
165名患有ASD的幼儿、58名非语言能力和实际年龄（CA）匹配的发育迟缓（DD）幼儿以及92名CA匹配的发育正常（TD）幼儿的家长在孩子26个月时（标准差 = 6；时间1）完成了幼儿行为评估问卷补充版（TBAQ-S）。部分患有ASD的幼儿（n = 126）在43个月时（标准差 = 9；时间2）也有TBAQ-S数据。
与DD组和TD组相比，患有ASD的幼儿在努力控制领域以及外向性领域表现出脆弱性。与TD组同龄人相比，他们还表现出更高的消极情绪性。在ASD组中，气质特征与自闭症严重程度或发育水平没有同时相关性，个体差异随时间高度稳定。从2岁到3.5岁，感知敏感性、抑制控制和低强度愉悦感的变化独特地预测了时间2时的自闭症症状严重程度和适应性社交技能水平。
患有ASD的幼儿的气质脆弱性随时间稳定，涉及注意力和行为控制以及情感反应。它们对学龄前儿童的社交结果有独特贡献，并且可能预示着日后出现适应不良的注意力、情感和行为症状的风险。考虑基于生物学的维度可能有助于揭示早期ASD表型的非核心方面，这些方面可能与儿童后期共病状况的出现有关。
