Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.
Departments of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Dev Sci. 2022 Sep;25(5):e13247. doi: 10.1111/desc.13247. Epub 2022 Feb 25.
Research concerning temperament in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has suggested a consistent profile of low positive affect, high negative affect, and low regulation (Visser et al., 2016). One area receiving less attention is individual differences among children diagnosed with ASD. The primary objective of this study was to use a person-centered approach to explore heterogeneity of early temperament precursors of regulation in a large sample of infants with elevated familial likelihood of ASD. Early precursors of regulation included temperament assessed at 6, 12, and 24 months whereas outcome measures were diagnosis of ASD, cognitive ability and adaptive behavior at 36 months. Participants included 176 low-likelihood and 473 elevated-likelihood infants, 129 of whom were diagnosed with ASD at 3 years. Results supported a three-profile solution: a well-regulated profile (high positive affect and high attentional focus and shifting), a low attention focus profile (higher attentional shifting compared to attentional focus), and a low attention shifting profile (higher attentional focus compared to attentional shifting). A higher proportion of children diagnosed with ASD were classified into the low attention shifting profile. Furthermore, children with the well-regulated profile were differentiated from the other profiles by a pattern of higher social competence and lower dysregulation whereas children with the low attention focus profile were distinguished from the other profiles by higher cognitive ability at 3 years. The findings indicate that the combination of early positive affect with attention measures may provide an enhanced tool for prediction of self-regulation and later outcomes.
研究表明，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童和成人的气质存在一致特征，即积极情绪低、消极情绪高、调节能力低（Visser 等人，2016 年）。但有一个领域受到的关注较少，即被诊断为 ASD 的儿童之间的个体差异。本研究的主要目的是使用以个体为中心的方法，在一个具有较高 ASD 家族可能性的大样本婴儿中探索调节的早期气质前体的异质性。调节的早期前体包括在 6、12 和 24 个月时评估的气质，而结果测量是在 36 个月时的 ASD 诊断、认知能力和适应行为。参与者包括 176 名低可能性和 473 名高可能性婴儿，其中 129 名在 3 岁时被诊断为 ASD。结果支持了一个三因素的解决方案：一个调节良好的特征（高积极情绪和高注意力焦点和转移），一个低注意力焦点特征（与注意力焦点相比，注意力转移较高），一个低注意力转移特征（与注意力转移相比，注意力焦点较高）。被诊断为 ASD 的儿童中有更高比例被归类为低注意力转移特征。此外，具有良好调节特征的儿童与其他特征的区别在于社交能力更高、失调程度更低，而具有低注意力焦点特征的儿童与其他特征的区别在于 3 岁时的认知能力更高。这些发现表明，早期积极情绪与注意力测量相结合可能为预测自我调节和后期结果提供一个增强的工具。
