Fourie Lurike, Kotzé Carla, van der Westhuizen Deborah
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
S Afr J Psychiatr. 2017 Feb 6;23:862. doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v23.862. eCollection 2017.
The sexual behaviour and development of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have been mostly overlooked in research and practice. This study aimed to determine the association between certain clinical and demographic factors found in a sample of children with ASDs, and their reported sexual behaviour (RSB).
The study was conducted at a school in Gauteng, South Africa, for learners with ASDs. Two questionnaires completed by caregivers/parents enquired about family stability, clinical profile and RSB (if any) in their child. RSB was analysed via three domains: self-care, socio-sexual skills and actual RSB, with additional information from school records.
Of the 107 questionnaires distributed, only 31 parents responded and 24 agreed to participate. The 24 (100%) children included 10 pubertal and 14 pre-pubertal children, of which 18 ( = 18) had more stable primary caregiver statuses as well as more stable socioeconomic and family environments. Two of the 14 pre-pubertal children had abnormal self-care, whereas none of the 10 pubertal children had any abnormal self-care. Eight of the 18 children from more stable environments displayed abnormal sexual behaviours. Of the 6 children from less stable environments, two displayed more abnormal socio-sexual skills, whereas 9 of the 18 children from more stable environments displayed more abnormal sexual behaviour. In contrast with the postulated hypothesis that children from less stable socioeconomic and family environments would exhibit more abnormal sexual behaviours, this study did not find any evidence of such a relationship or association.
ASDs are characterised by deficits in communication and social skills. These may lead to an affected individual struggling to develop appropriate sexual behaviour. If specific risk factors that contribute to the development of abnormal sexual behaviour can be identified, one can try to modify/prevent these where some degree of prevention or alleviation may be possible.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的性行为和发育在研究和实践中大多被忽视。本研究旨在确定在一组ASD儿童样本中发现的某些临床和人口统计学因素与他们报告的性行为（RSB）之间的关联。
该研究在南非豪登省的一所针对ASD学习者的学校进行。由照顾者/父母填写的两份问卷询问了其孩子的家庭稳定性、临床概况和RSB（如有）。通过三个领域分析RSB：自我照顾、社交性技能和实际RSB，并参考学校记录中的其他信息。
在分发的107份问卷中，只有31位家长回复，其中24位同意参与。这24名（100%）儿童包括10名青春期儿童和14名青春期前儿童，其中18名儿童的主要照顾者状况以及社会经济和家庭环境更为稳定。14名青春期前儿童中有两名自我照顾异常，而10名青春期儿童中没有任何自我照顾异常。来自更稳定环境的18名儿童中有8名表现出异常性行为。在来自较不稳定环境的6名儿童中，两名表现出更异常的社交性技能，而来自更稳定环境的18名儿童中有9名表现出更异常的性行为。与假设的社会经济和家庭环境较不稳定的儿童会表现出更多异常性行为的假设相反，本研究未发现这种关系或关联的任何证据。
ASD的特征是沟通和社交技能缺陷。这些可能导致受影响的个体难以发展适当的性行为。如果能够识别出导致异常性行为发展的特定风险因素，那么在有可能进行一定程度预防或缓解的情况下，可以尝试对这些因素进行调整/预防。
