Spackman Emily, Smillie Luke D, Frazier Thomas W, Hardan Antonio Y, Alvares Gail A, Whitehouse Andrew, Uljarević Mirko
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, United States.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2023 Feb 9;17:1037967. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1037967. eCollection 2023.
Circumscribed interests (CI) encompass a range of different interests and related behaviors that can be characterized by either a high intensity but otherwise usual topic [referred to as restricted interests (RI)] or by a focus on topics that are not salient outside of autism [referred to as unusual interests (UI)]. Previous research has suggested that there is pronounced variability across individuals in terms of the endorsement of different interests, however, this variability has not been quantified using formal subtyping approaches. Therefore, using Latent Profile Analysis in a sample of 1,892 autistic youth (M = 10.82, SD = 4.14; 420 females), this study aimed to identify subgroups based on the RU and UI profiles. Three profiles of autistic individuals were identified. They were characterized as Low CI, Predominantly RI, and Predominantly UI. Importantly, profiles differed on several key demographic and clinical variables, including age, sex composition, IQ, language level, social and communication abilities, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Although replication across other samples is needed, the profiles identified in this study are potentially promising for future research given their distinct profiles of RI and UI and unique patterns of associations with key cognitive and clinical variables. Therefore, this study represents an important initial step towards more individualized assessment and support for diverse presentations of CI in autistic youth.
限定兴趣（CI）涵盖了一系列不同的兴趣及相关行为，其特征可以是强烈但主题正常的兴趣（称为受限兴趣，RI），也可以是关注自闭症之外不显著的主题（称为异常兴趣，UI）。以往研究表明，个体在不同兴趣的认可方面存在显著差异，然而，这种差异尚未通过正式的亚型分类方法进行量化。因此，本研究在1892名自闭症青少年样本（M = 10.82，SD = 4.14；420名女性）中使用潜在剖面分析，旨在根据受限兴趣和异常兴趣概况识别亚组。识别出了三类自闭症个体概况。它们的特征分别为低限定兴趣、主要为受限兴趣和主要为异常兴趣。重要的是，这些概况在几个关键的人口统计学和临床变量上存在差异，包括年龄、性别构成、智商、语言水平、社交和沟通能力、焦虑以及强迫行为。尽管需要在其他样本中进行重复验证，但鉴于本研究中识别出的概况具有独特的受限兴趣和异常兴趣特征以及与关键认知和临床变量的独特关联模式，它们对未来研究具有潜在的前景。因此，本研究是朝着更个性化评估和支持自闭症青少年多样化的限定兴趣表现迈出的重要第一步。
