The Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Health Services Utilization by Parents and Relatives Living With Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Knowledge about prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders and mental health services use among parents and relatives of persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited, particularly when referring to epidemiologic samples. The current study is based on an island-wide probabilistic multistage cluster sample of adult individuals (N = 3062) living in Puerto Rico. Results showed a significantly higher rate of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and serious mental illness in parents (n = 34) or relatives (n = 34) of ASD individuals, as compared with the Puerto Rico adult population as a whole. Although not definitive because of the small sample size, the fact that the rates of mental health utilization were similar to the population sample suggests a need for greater attention by health professionals attending children with ASD to the needs for mental health services of both parents and relatives of individuals with ASD.

Parental Burden and its Correlates in Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multicentre Study with Two Comparison Groups

“…Also, studies comparing the parents of children with ASD with the parents of typically developing children [ 13 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 117 , 118 ] and of children with developmental delay [ 14 ], intellectual disability [ 17 , 118 ] or DS [ 13 , 16 ] consistently reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, emotional distress, and a variety of psychopathological dimensions in parents of children with ASD. It should be noted that increased anxiety and depressive symptoms among parents of children with ASD might not always be related to caregiving burden, as the literature suggests that the greater risk of psychopathology displayed by the parents of children with ASD [ 119 ] is only partly explained by parental stress and family burden [ 120 , 121 ]. Together with previous literature, our findings draw attention to the high level of distress from depressive and anxiety symptoms suffered by the parents of children with ASD and suggest that this issue deserves careful clinical attention.…”

Genetic Relationships between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Intelligence

“…Notably, hyperactive-impulsive symptoms strongly correlate with restricted and repetitive behaviors in ASD (r = 0.56) [11]. Relatives of individuals with ASD are more likely to acquire an ADHD diagnosis [12][13][14] and vice versa [15]. In particular, siblings of patients with ASD have a nearly 4-fold increased risk for ADHD when compared to matched controls [16].…”