Aggression in children with autism spectrum disorders and a clinic-referred comparison group

Abstract

A gap exists in the literature regarding aggression in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and how this behavior compares to other groups. In this multisite study, the Children’s Scale for Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP) and the Aggression subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were rated for 414 children with ASD (Autistic Disorder, 69%; PDD-NOS, 24%; Asperger’s Disorder, 7%) and 243 clinic-referred children without ASD, aged 1-21 years (mean age about 7). Participants were not selected for aggressive behavior. Relative to the comparison group, children with ASD were reported to have less aggression and were more likely to be rated as reactive rather than proactive. Among all subjects, sex was not associated with aggression; higher IQ/adaptive behavior and older age were associated with more sophisticated types of aggression while lower scores on IQ, adaptive behavior, and communication measures were associated with more physical aggression. The interaction between demographic variables and diagnosis was significant only for age: younger but not older children with ASD showed less aggression than clinic-referred controls.

Aggressive behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorders: Prevalence and correlates in a large clinical sample

“…In contrast to some previous studies (Farmer et al, 2014; Hartley et al, 2008; Mazurek et al, 2013), children with ABP were not more impaired in adaptive functioning than those without ABP. The lack of differences between children with and without ABP on the VABS-II Socialization scale may appear inconsistent with the negative association between ABP and ASD social affect symptoms since the two measures reflect similar constructs.…”

“…Inconsistent ASD diagnostic criteria, definitions of aggressive behaviors, and the use of measures that are not validated in typical or ASD populations make comparisons across studies difficult. On the other hand, this prevalence estimate is at the higher end of the range of previous studies that used the CBCL to define ABP (Farmer et al, 2014; Georgiades et al, 2011; Hartley et al, 2008). For example, Georgiades and colleagues (2011) found a prevalence of 7.8% among children with ASD using the CBCL (ages 2–4 years).…”

Language Impairments in ASD Resulting from a Failed Domestication of the Human Brain

“…Children with ASD display more reactive than proactive aggression attitudes (Farmer et al, 2015). Likewise, irritability is also commonly observed in affected individuals (Mikita et al, 2015).…”

Long-Term Outcomes in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders in India

“…However, older children were more likely to be non-verbal in our sample. Therefore, as reported previously (Farmer et al 2014), poorer communication skills may have contributed to their aggressive behavior. As seen before (Sikora et al 2012;Taylor et al 2012), symptoms of sleep disturbances were seen more in individuals that did not achieve ADLs.…”

“…The association between age and aggression in ASDs may be debatable. While Farmer et al (2014) found no relation between the two, another study (Kanne and Mazurek 2011) reported more aggressive behavior in younger children. However, older children were more likely to be non-verbal in our sample.…”