Citation

Hill AP, Zuckerman KE, Hagen AD, Kriz DJ, Duvall SW, van Santen J, Nigg J, Fair DA, Fombonne E. Res. Autism Spectr. Disord. 2014; 8(9): 1121-1133.

Affiliation

Institute on Development and Disability, Oregon Health & Science University, 707 SW Gaines Street, Portland, OR 97239 ; Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road L470, Portland, OR 97239.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.rasd.2014.05.006

PMID

25221619

PMCID

PMC4160737

Abstract

Aggressive behavior problems (ABP) are frequent yet poorly understood in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and are likely to co-vary significantly with comorbid problems. We examined the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of ABP in a clinical sample of children with ASD (N = 400; 2-16.9 years). We also investigated whether children with ABP experience more intensive medical interventions, greater impairments in behavioral functioning, and more severe comorbid problems than children with ASD who do not have ABP. One in four children with ASD had Child Behavior Checklist scores on the Aggressive Behavior scale in the clinical range (T-scores ≥ 70). Sociodemographic factors (age, gender, parent education, race, ethnicity) were unrelated to ABP status. The presence of ABP was significantly associated with increased use of psychotropic drugs and melatonin, lower cognitive functioning, lower ASD severity, and greater comorbid sleep, internalizing, and attention problems. In multivariate models, sleep, internalizing, and attention problems were most strongly associated with ABP. These comorbid problems may hold promise as targets for treatment to decrease aggressive behavior and proactively identify high-risk profiles for prevention.

Language: en