Stony Brook University, USA.
University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Autism. 2020 May;24(4):983-994. doi: 10.1177/1362361320909177. Epub 2020 Mar 13.
Youth with autism spectrum disorder often exhibit symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder; however, it can be difficult for parents and clinicians to tell the difference between the restricted and repetitive behaviors often seen in autism spectrum disorder and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. This difficulty in distinguishing symptoms may arise from the fact that these symptoms appear the same to observers but are typically differentiated based on whether the motivation for the behavior is to reduce stress (restricted and repetitive behaviors) or whether the behavior itself is stressful (obsessive-compulsive disorder). It is important to know the difference between these two symptoms as it may impact the treatment prescribed. The goal of this study was to better determine the difference between restricted and repetitive behaviors and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in youth with autism spectrum disorder. It was found that although parents and clinicians had trouble differentiating between the two, the children were able to provide insight as to their own motivations for behavior, and thus whether they were restricted and repetitive behaviors or symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It was also found that children may actually have subjective negative experiences when engaging in restricted and repetitive behaviors, which complicates their classification. These results provide guidance for better understanding, distinguishing, and ultimately treating obsessive-compulsive disorder behavior in youth with autism spectrum disorder.
自闭症谱系障碍的青少年通常表现出强迫症的症状;然而,父母和临床医生很难区分自闭症谱系障碍中常见的受限和重复行为与强迫症症状之间的区别。这种区分症状的困难可能源于这样一个事实,即观察者认为这些症状是相同的,但通常是根据行为的动机是减轻压力(受限和重复行为)还是行为本身有压力(强迫症)来区分。了解这两种症状的区别很重要,因为它可能会影响所开的治疗方法。本研究的目的是更好地确定自闭症谱系障碍青少年的受限和重复行为与强迫症症状之间的区别。研究发现,尽管父母和临床医生难以区分这两者,但孩子们能够深入了解自己行为的动机,从而确定他们是受限和重复行为还是强迫症症状。此外,研究还发现,当儿童参与受限和重复行为时,他们实际上可能会有主观的负面体验,这使得他们的分类变得复杂。这些结果为更好地理解、区分和最终治疗自闭症谱系障碍青少年的强迫症行为提供了指导。