Yirmiya N, Erel O, Shaked M, Solomonica-Levi D
Department of Psychology, School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Psychol Bull. 1998 Nov;124(3):283-307. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.124.3.283.
A deficit in theory of mind (ToM) abilities has been described as the core deficit in autism. The authors performed 3 meta-analyses, comparing ToM abilities of individuals with autism, individuals with mental retardation (MR), and normally developing individuals. Results indicated that individuals with autism and MR have impaired ToM abilities. The etiology associated with MR (i.e., Down syndrome, undifferentiated etiology) was found to be an important moderator variable. Chronological age (CA) and verbal mental age (VMA) of the normally developing children and CA, VMA, and performance mental age of individuals with MR, and type of matching between the groups were also found to be moderator variables. Discussion focuses on the implication of the findings and emphasizes the need to consider the specific etiology of comparison groups when studying abilities and impairments of individuals with autism and MR.
心理理论（ToM）能力缺陷被认为是自闭症的核心缺陷。作者进行了三项荟萃分析，比较了自闭症患者、智力障碍（MR）患者和正常发育个体的ToM能力。结果表明，自闭症患者和智力障碍患者的ToM能力受损。发现与智力障碍相关的病因（即唐氏综合征、未分化病因）是一个重要的调节变量。正常发育儿童的实足年龄（CA）和言语心理年龄（VMA）、智力障碍患者的CA、VMA和操作心理年龄，以及组间匹配类型也被发现是调节变量。讨论集中在研究结果的意义上，并强调在研究自闭症患者和智力障碍患者的能力和损伤时，需要考虑比较组的具体病因。
