Broader autistic phenotype in parents of children with autism: Autism Spectrum Quotient–Turkish version

Abstract

Aims:The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is a selfassessment screening instrument for measuring the degree to which an individual of normal intelligence shows autistic traits. Genetic factors could be responsible for the relatives of individuals with autism exhibiting higher than normal rates of autism-related impairments, referred to as the 'broader autism phenotype' (BAP). The aim of this study was to test whether there is a difference between the parents of autistic and those of typically developing children (TDC) on AQ scores in a Turkish sample. Method:The AQ total and subscale scores of the 100 parents (47 fathers, 53 mothers) of children with autistic disorder (AD) were compared with the 100 parents (48 fathers, 52 mothers) of TDC. Results:The parents of AD children scored significantly higher than the TDC parents on total AQ score, and two of five subscale scores; social skills, and communication. The other three subscales (attention to detail, attention switching, imagination) did not differentiate groups. There was no significant difference between mothers and fathers on any AQ scores, neither in the AD nor TDC group. The group ¥ gender interaction was not significant on the total or the five subscale scores of AQ. Conclusion:Social skill and communication subscales differentiate AD parents more successfully, and are more sensitive, as reported in other studies. The present findings confirm that social skill and communication impairments in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders are indicators of BAP.

Plasma Oxytocin and Arginine-Vasopressin Levels in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in China: Associations with Symptoms

“…Family members of children diagnosed with ASD have been reported to display more autism spectrum traits, including social skills and communication impairments, than family members of normal controls [26,27]. Social deficiency in the relatives of people with ASD may therefore reflect the heritability of the underlying physiology important to social behaviors (i.e., OXT or AVP).…”

Investigating the Evidence of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Psychiatric Endophenotypes in Autism: A Systematic Review

“…A total of ten reports measured the BAP using the self-report AQ (ES range: 0.01–1.34). Three studies used adaptations of the AQ: one in Italian [17], one in Turkish [18], and one in French [19]. Within the “social skills” factor, five studies found significantly higher deficits in social skills compared to parents of typically developing children [17, 18, 20–22].…”

“…Three studies used adaptations of the AQ: one in Italian [17], one in Turkish [18], and one in French [19]. Within the “social skills” factor, five studies found significantly higher deficits in social skills compared to parents of typically developing children [17, 18, 20–22]. Two studies reported significantly higher prevalence of “Attention Switching” deficits between the index parents and parents of typically developing children [22] and parents of children with specific language impairment [23].…”

“…One study evaluating the “Attention to Detail” subscale reported mothers of typically developing children scoring significantly higher than index mothers [24]. Within the “Communication” subscale, five out of eight studies reported significantly higher communication deficits between index parents and parents of typically developing children [17, 18, 20, 22] and parents of children with a specific language impairment [23]. However, only Wheelwright et al's (2010) [22] study reported a significant trend for index parents to have more deficits in “Imagination” subscale compared to a sample of parents of typically developing children.…”

A Comparison of the Alexithymia, Self-compassion and Humour Characteristics of the Parents with Mentally Disabled and Autistic Children

“…Furthermore, it could be argued that whether parents have mentally disabled and autistic children also has an effect on their behavioral patterns. In some studies, it was found that the parents with autistic children have higher level of broad autism phenotype characteristics than the parents with normally developing children in the areas of social skills and communication (Bishop et al, 2004, Köse et al, 2013. It was also suggested that mild disorders in social communication especially affect the males (Skuse, Bruce, Dowdney and Mrazek, 2011).…”