BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, 950 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4H4, Canada.
Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3V4, Canada.
Autism Res. 2018 Feb;11(2):284-295. doi: 10.1002/aur.1877. Epub 2017 Sep 27.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate challenges with executive function (EF), adaptive behavior, and mental health, all of which place long-term wellbeing at risk. In the current study we examined the relation between parent-rated EF and adaptive functioning and internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depression), as we expected that identifying the specific EF domains most closely related to these indices of functioning would illuminate opportunities for targeted intervention. Participants included 59 children and adolescents with ASD (M = 10.1 years) and 67 who were typically developing (TD) (M = 9.4 years) matched on age, IQ, mental age, and maternal education. Caregivers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of EF (BRIEF) and Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2). Parents rated children with ASD as demonstrating significantly more challenges across most of the examined BRIEF and BASC-2 indices and scales, with the exception of organization of materials (BRIEF) and anxiety (BASC-2). For both groups, metacognitive EF processes emerged as strongly associated with practical, conceptual, and social skills, though different BRIEF scales emerged as significant across the component subdomains. In terms of the relation with mental health, BRIEF index scores were unrelated to anxiety for both groups. Behavior regulation, however, was significantly associated with depression symptoms for children with and without ASD. The findings highlight the possibility that targeting particular EF domains among individuals with and without ASD may not only have direct benefit for behavior regulation and metacognitive abilities, but may also extend to other areas of life, including adaptive behavior and concomitant internalizing symptomatology. Autism Res 2018, 11: 284-295. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
We examined whether parents' ratings of their children's flexibility and ability to monitor their behavior predicted adaptive skills (e.g., ability to complete day-to-day personal tasks, communicate, and socialize) and symptoms of anxiety and depression among children with and without autism spectrum disorder. For both groups, children's abilities to manage and monitor their behavior were strongly related to adaptive skills. Children's flexibility and ability to inhibit inappropriate behavior and control their emotions was associated with depression symptoms for both groups.
患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的个体在执行功能（EF）、适应行为和心理健康方面都存在挑战，所有这些都使长期健康处于危险之中。在目前的研究中，我们检查了父母对 EF 和适应功能的评价与内化症状（焦虑、抑郁）之间的关系，因为我们预计确定与这些功能指标最密切相关的特定 EF 领域将为有针对性的干预提供机会。参与者包括 59 名自闭症儿童和青少年（M=10.1 岁）和 67 名发育正常的儿童（TD）（M=9.4 岁），他们在年龄、智商、心理年龄和母亲教育方面相匹配。照顾者完成了行为评定量表的 EF（BRIEF）和行为评估系统的儿童，第二版（BASC-2）。父母对 ASD 儿童的评价表明，他们在大多数被检查的 BRIEF 和 BASC-2 指标和量表上表现出明显更多的挑战，除了组织材料（BRIEF）和焦虑（BASC-2）。对于两组，元认知 EF 过程都与实践、概念和社交技能密切相关，尽管不同的 BRIEF 量表在组成子领域中具有重要意义。就与心理健康的关系而言，BRIEF 指数得分与两组的焦虑无关。然而，行为调节与 ASD 儿童和非 ASD 儿童的抑郁症状显著相关。研究结果强调了这样一种可能性，即针对 ASD 个体和非 ASD 个体的特定 EF 领域不仅可能对行为调节和元认知能力有直接的益处，而且可能扩展到生活的其他领域，包括适应行为和伴随的内化症状。自闭症研究 2018，11：284-295。 © 2017 自闭症国际研究协会，威利期刊，公司。
我们检查了父母对孩子灵活性和监控行为能力的评价是否能预测自闭症谱系障碍儿童和非自闭症谱系障碍儿童的适应技能（例如，完成日常个人任务、沟通和社交的能力）和焦虑和抑郁症状。对于两组，儿童管理和监控自己行为的能力与适应技能密切相关。儿童的灵活性和抑制不当行为和控制自己情绪的能力与两组的抑郁症状有关。
