Validation of DSM-IV Model of Psychiatric Syndromes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the internal construct validity of the DSM-IV as a conceptual model for characterizing behavioral syndromes in children with ASD. Parent and teachers completed the Child Symptom Inventory-4, a DSM-IV-referenced rating scale, for 6-to-12 year old clinic referrals with an ASD (N = 498). Ratings were submitted to confirmatory factor analysis and models were assessed for fit. Results were also compared to those obtained for a sample of non-ASD psychiatric outpatient school-age children. Fit indices ranged from acceptable to good for the ASD samples and compared well to those obtained in typically developing children. Findings lend support to the notion that DSM-IV syndromes may be an appropriate conceptual model for characterizing psychopathology in ASD.

Emotion regulation and internalizing symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders

“…This seems to confirm other studies also indicating that the development of internalizing symptoms in children with ASD does indeed follow qualitatively similar causal pathways compared to typically developing children (Lecavalier et al, 2009). Nevertheless, testing both regression models on their equality showed a significant difference.…”

Direct and Indirect Measures of Social Perception, Behavior, and Emotional Functioning in Children with Asperger’s Disorder, Nonverbal Learning Disability, or ADHD

“…The second major hypothesis was not confirmed; namely, that children with AS would experience more difficulty on the direct measure of social perception compared to children with NLD. Consistent with previous studies which used neuropsychological and behavior rating scales, the current study found more similarities in social perception between the NLD and AS groups than differences using a direct social perception measure (Gunter et al 2002;Klin et al 1996;Lecavalier et al 2009;Rourke and Tsatsanis 2000). These findings suggest that NLD and AS are related social disorders.…”

“…As expected the control group showed better behavioral functioning in all areas compared to the clinical groups. When the clinical groups were compared, the AS group showed more externalizing behavioral problems compared to the control group and the ADHD-PI group; a finding consistent with previous research (Lecavalier et al 2009). Within the internalizing scale, symptoms of sadness were particularly noted for children with AS, NLD, and ADHD-C with the AS group showing a greatest tendency to experience these difficulties.…”

“…So far, studies have not utilized large sample of children with NLD or AS to determine common pathways that underlie these disorders. The use of complex methodology such as that by Lecavalier et al (2009) or Gadow et al (2008 to determine what symptoms are similar or dissimilar between children with AS or NLD is needed to understand how these disorders intersect. What is also needed is a large scale study that could establish appropriate diagnostic criteria for NLD similar to what has been accomplished for AS.…”

Depression Symptoms in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Comparison Samples

“…Specifically, individual symptom categories evidence satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), testretest reliability, and convergent and divergent validity with corresponding scales of other measures. Confirmatory factor analysis supports the internal validity of the DSM-IV model of behavioral syndromes in a large sample (N = 730) of children with diagnosed ASD (Lecavalier et al 2009). The findings of numerous studies show that CSI-4 scores are minimally correlated with age, gender, IQ, and SES.…”