Temperament influences the relationship between symptom severity and adaptive functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

<jats:p> Temperament is a construct that is relatively stable over time but varies between individuals. Research suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder have a ‘reactive’ temperament profile when compared to peers with or without disabilities. However, our understanding of how temperament varies within children with autism and how it relates to child symptoms and outcomes is limited. This study aimed to (a) explore the variation of individual temperament traits within a sample of school-aged children with autism to determine whether subgroups of children with similar trait profiles emerge and (b) examine whether temperament influences the relationship between autism symptoms and adaptive functioning outcomes. Results revealed that children with autism can be classified empirically into two distinct profiles – ‘Even’ and ‘Reactive’ temperaments. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both temperament profiles and baseline symptom severity predicted adaptive functioning outcomes 1 year later. There was a significant interaction between temperament and symptom severity, suggesting temperament can influence the impact of increasing symptom severity on adaptive functioning skills in children with autism. Study findings highlight the importance of considering temperament in understanding the individual differences that influence the development of daily functioning and developmental outcomes in children with autism. </jats:p><jats:sec><jats:title>Lay Abstract</jats:title><jats:p> Temperament is often thought of as behavioural traits that are relatively stable over time but can vary between individuals. Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are often characterized as having ‘reactive’ and ‘negative’ temperaments when compared to same-aged peers with or without disabilities, which can negatively impact the development of adaptive functioning skills but little is known about variations of temperament between individual children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This study aimed to (a) explore the variation of individual temperament traits within a sample of school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder to determine whether subgroups with similar trait profiles emerge and (b) examine whether temperament influences the relationship between autism symptoms and adaptive functioning outcomes. Results from our dataset suggest that children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder fit under two profiles: ‘even’ and ‘reactive’. Furthermore, our analysis shows that temperament can influence the impact of increasing symptom severity on adaptive functioning skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Study findings highlight the importance of considering temperament when trying to understand the individual differences that influence the development of functioning and developmental outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder. </jats:p></jats:sec>

The moderating effect of types of child’s neurodevelopmental disorder on the relationship between Indonesian mothers’ perception of child’s maladaptive behaviour and maternal parenting stress

“…The findings of this study further emphasize that parenting stress is influenced by the types of child's neurodevelopmental disorder that has to do with the severity of the neurodevelopmental disorders' symptoms which has an impact on the increase of child's maladaptive behaviours (Lee et al 2020). This is also confirmed by several other studies that have proven that the problematic behaviours in children with ASD (Harrop et al 2016, Zaidman-Zait et al 2014, the low adaptive ability of children with ADHD (Peasgood et al 2020), and the increased maladaptive behaviour of children with ID (Giltaij et al 2015) has an impact on maternal parenting stress.…”

“…This means that the more severe the child's NDD, the lower the mother's perception of the child's adaptive behaviours and the higher the mother's perception of the child's maladaptive behaviours. Previous studies found that the severity of disability relates to the emerging maladaptive behaviours in children with NDD (Lee et al 2020). Other research found that child's characteristics and symptom severity are strongly associated with the experience of parenting stress in mothers of chidren with ASD (Brobst et al 2009, Ekas and Whitman 2010, Estes et al 2009, mothers of chidren with ADHD (Leitch et al 2019), and mothers of chidren with ID (Biswas et al 2015).…”

“…Some studies related to maladaptive behaviours of children with NDD found that, for examples, 1) children with ID face lifelong challenges in areas such as self-care and learning and socializing abilities (Sun 2020); low independency (Van der Meulen et al 2018); difficulties in different domains of learning, including academic, social, and practical knowledge (Bertelli et al 2016), limitations in adaptive behaviours (Nankervis et al 2020); 2) children with ASD display tantrums, aggressive behaviours, and inability to control emotions (Oubrahim and Combalbert 2019), and restricted and repetitive behaviours (Patriquin et al 2020); 3) children with ADHD show hyperactivity and concentration difficulty (Lee et al 2020) and behaviour problems (Climie and Mitchell 2017) that result in decreased well-being (Peasgood et al 2020); has a lot of challenges (Climie and Henley 2018); increased anxiety and depression (Brammer et al 2018), feelings of hopelessness (Alamdarloo and Majidi 2020); and increased parenting stress on the part of parents (Korpa et al 2017).…”

Early Detection of Temperament Risk Factors: A Comparison of Clinically Referred and General Population Children

“…They also coalesce in the construct of undercontrol—a clinically significant cluster defined by traits such as impulsivity, inattention, and emotional volatility ( 15 ). A similar cluster characterized by low attentional focusing, low approach tendencies, anger/frustration, and impulsivity was found to predict poor adaptive functioning in children with autism ( 16 ). It is also noteworthy that the combination of negative emotionality, notably anger, and low effortful control was more strongly associated with violent and non-violent delinquency than psychopathic traits and childhood traumatic events in a sample of juvenile offenders ( 5 ).…”

Clinical reflections on the intersections of autism and personality development

“…On average, autistic children demonstrate higher negative affectivity, lower sociability and self-regulation than neurotypical children or children with other diagnoses (Chetcuti et al, 2021). Temperament may signal individual differences in autistic children who have developmental relevance to adaptation, mental health, and well-being outcomes (Chetcuti et al, 2020; Helles et al, 2016), which is supported by increasing longitudinal studies (Chetcuti et al, 2021; Konke et al, 2022; Lee et al, 2020; Narvekar et al, 2022). But there are still many knowledge gaps, especially regarding (1) how variability in temperament reflects and interacts with neurodivergent early-stage sensory-motor processing and later neurocognitive modifiers (e.g.…”