Parent Training for Disruptive Behaviors in Referred Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether face-to-face and therapist-assisted online (i.e., blended) behavioral parent training are effective on reducing disruptive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in routine mental health care.

Predictive validity of the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment (SINDA) to identify 4-5 year-old children at risk of developmental delay in a low-risk sample.

Background: Early detection of developmental problems is important as it allows for early intervention. Previous studies, in high-risk infants, found high predictive values of atypical scores on the Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment (SINDA) for later neurodevelopmental disorders (i.e.

Integrative Care for Challenging Behaviors in People with Intellectual Disabilities to Reduce Challenging Behaviors and Inappropriate Psychotropic Drug Prescribing Compared with Care as Usual: A Cluster-Randomized Trial.

People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) often present with challenging behaviors (CBs) mostly due to inappropriate environments and mental and physical disorders. Integrative care is recommended to address CBs. However, in clinical practice, psychotropic drugs are often prescribed off-label for CBs, although the effectiveness is unclear, and side effects frequently occur.

Association of cognitive and adaptive skills with internalizing and externalizing problems in autistic children and adolescents.

The presence of an intellectual disability (ID) alongside autism is considered to increase the risk for mental health and behavior problems in children and adolescents. Existing evidence is restricted by looking at ID as a categorical classification. The study aimed to examine the association of cognitive and adaptive behavior skills with internalizing and externalizing problems in a large sample of autistic children and adolescents, across a wide range of cognitive skills.

Effects of positive behaviour support delivered by direct staff on challenging behaviours and quality of life of adults with intellectual disabilities: A multicentre cluster-controlled trial.

Background: Effects of staff provided positive behaviour support (PBS) for individuals with intellectual disabilities are unclear.

Method: Using a multicentre non-randomised cluster controlled design, 26 teams of residential group homes, including 245 staff members of 167 individuals with intellectual disabilities, were allocated to a PBS or control group. Conducting multilevel analyses (n = 123) we examined individuals' changes in irritability, other challenging behaviours and quality of life.

Difficulties in Addressing Diagnostic, Treatment and Support Needs in Individuals with Intellectual Disability and Persistent Challenging Behaviours: A Descriptive File Study of Referrals to an Expertise Centre.

Service providers may experience difficulties in providing appropriate care to optimize the functioning of individuals with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour. External consultation to identify and address the unmet support needs underlying the behaviour may be beneficial. Applying the multidimensional American Association Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) model may facilitate this approach.

Assessing Autism Knowledge Across the Global Landscape Using the ASK-Q.

Substantial variability exists with regard to autism service provision around the world. Service disparities observed in many low- and middle-income countries may be driven, in part, by limited autism knowledge; however, measurement limitations have made it difficult to quantify autism knowledge across countries. The current study uses the autism stigma and knowledge questionnaire (ASK-Q) to quantify autism knowledge and stigma between different countries and demographics.

Sex differences in the course of autistic and co-occurring psychopathological symptoms in adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is expressed differently in women than men. Studies on sex differences in autistic symptoms and symptoms of other psychiatric problems present in individuals with autism generally do not include a general population comparison group, making it unclear whether differences are specific to autism or merely reflecting development in the general population. In this study, we compared sex differences in the course of autistic and at the same time present symptoms of other psychiatric problems in adolescents with milder forms of ASD to those in a group of the general population with an equal intelligence quotient (IQ) and socioeconomic status.

Preferred outcome measures in treatments for challenging behaviour in individuals with intellectual disabilities: Results of an inclusive Delphi method.

Background: Interventions for challenging behaviours in individuals with intellectual disabilities benefit from outcome monitoring that takes clients' preferences into account. We determined clients' and representatives' preferred outcome domains and measures to secure their involvement in treatment decisions for challenging behaviours.

Method: We used an inclusive Delphi method.

Network Structure of Autism Spectrum Disorder Behaviors and Its Evolution in Preschool Children: Insights from a New Longitudinal Network Analysis Method.

Network modeling of the social, communication and restrictive/repetitive behaviors (RRBs) included in the definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder was performed. The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) assessed behaviors in 139 pre-school cases at two cross-sections that averaged 34.8 months apart.

Exploring the association of staff characteristics with staff perceptions of quality of life of individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours.

Background: This study aimed to examine the associations between individual staff and staff team characteristics and quality of life of individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours.

Method: With multilevel analyses, we examined educational level, experience, attitudes and behaviours of 240 staff members, in relation to their perception of quality of life of 152 individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours they cared for.

Results: Two individual staff characteristics were related to better quality of life: higher educational and self-reflection levels.

Normative data for the self-reported and parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for ages 12-17.

Background: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used to screen for psychosocial problems among adolescents. As the severity of such problems is known to be related to age and gender, screening could be improved by interpreting SDQ scale scores with age-specific and perhaps gender-specific norms. Up to now, such norms are lacking.

Parental rejection in early adolescence predicts a persistent ADHD symptom trajectory across adolescence.

Despite a general decrease of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms during adolescence, these may persist in some individuals but not in others. Prior cross-sectional studies have shown that parenting style and their interaction with candidate genes are associated with ADHD symptoms. However, there is a lack of longitudinal research examining the independent and interactive effects of parenting and plasticity genes in predicting the course of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms across adolescence.

Early-Life Environmental and Child Factors Associated with the Presence of Disruptive Behaviors in Seven-Year-Old Children with Autistic Traits in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

We studied the association of early-life environmental and child factors with disruptive behaviors in children with autistic traits around age 7, in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 6,401). Logistic regression with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator indicated that disruptive behaviors were associated with prenatal smoking, no seafood-consumption during pregnancy, breech presentation at delivery, neonatal feeding problems, low social-economic situation, suboptimal preschool family environment, maternal depression, maternal antisocial behavior, male sex, and difficult child temperament. Compared to controls, male sex, maternal depression, and suboptimal preschool family environment were related to autistic traits without disruptive behaviors.

The combined self- and parent-rated SDQ score profile predicts care use and psychiatric diagnoses.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used, based on evidence of its value for screening. This evidence primarily regards the single informant total difficulties scale and separate difficulties subscales. We assessed to what degree adolescents' SDQ profiles that combined all self- and parent-rated subscales were associated with use of care and psychiatric diagnoses, and examined the added value thereof over using only a single informant and the total scale.

Application of Latent Class Analysis to Identify Subgroups of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders who Benefit from Social Skills Training.

With Latent Class Analysis applied on data of 98 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (9-12 years; 17 girls) participating in social skills training (SST) in a randomized controlled trial (Dekker et al. 2019), four subgroups were detected, based on social-communicative skills before, and response patterns to training. Two subgroups improved after SST.

Self-directed or therapist-led parent training for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? A randomized controlled non-inferiority pilot trial.

Background And Objectives: Therapist-led behavioral parent training is a well-established treatment for behavior problems in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, parental attrition is high; self-directed forms of parent training may be a promising alternative. To date, no studies have compared these two forms of parent training in referred children with ADHD.

ADHD symptoms across adolescence: the role of the family and school climate and the DRD4 and 5-HTTLPR genotype.

We examined bidirectional relations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and family and school climate, and the possible role of DRD4 and/or 5-HTTLPR genotypes herein. Three-wave longitudinal data of 1860 adolescents (mean ages 11, 13.5, and 16 years) from the general population and clinic-referred cohort of TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey were used.

Factors related to parental pre-treatment motivation in outpatient child and adolescent mental health care.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between a variety of child, parent, family and environmental factors and pre-treatment motivation of parents of children and adolescents newly referred to a mental health care clinic in The Netherlands. Data were collected of 521 parents most involved in the upbringing of the child (443 mothers and 78 fathers; Dutch origin 97.1%) of 207 girls and 314 boys (age M = 10.

Validity Aspects of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Adolescent Self-Report and Parent-Report Versions Among Dutch Adolescents.

In this study, validity aspects of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) self-report and parent-report versions were assessed among Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (community sample: = 962, clinical sample: = 4,053). The findings mostly support the continued use of both SDQ versions in screening for psychosocial problems as (a) exploratory structural equation analyses partially supported the grouping of items into five scales; (b) investigation of associations between scales of the SDQ and the Child Behavior Checklist, Youth Self-Report, and Intelligence Development Scales-2 provided evidence for the SDQ versions' convergent and divergent validity; and (c) receiver operating characteristics curves yielded evidence for both SDQ versions' criterion validity by showing that these questionnaires can be used to screen for psychosocial problems, except for the adolescent-reported version for males. Regardless of the adolescent's gender, the receiver operating characteristics curves showed both SDQ versions to be useful for screening for three specific types of problems: anxiety/mood disorder, conduct/oppositional deviant disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Network Analysis of Behaviors in the Depression and Autism Realms: Inter-Relationships and Clinical Implications.

Depression-, anxiety-, OCD- and autism-related behaviors were assessed in 118 high-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and in 2016 controls. The ASD group had a higher rate of clinical depression and markedly higher "insomnia" and "restlessness" scores. Network analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis in the ASD group revealed that depression and anxiety items clustered together, but separately from autism-related items.

Psychometric Properties of the Dutch Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in Adolescent Community and Clinical Populations.

This study assessed the factor structures of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) adolescent and parent versions and their measurement invariance across settings in clinical ( = 4,053) and community ( = 962) samples of Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Per SDQ version, confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess its factor structure in clinical and community settings and to test for measurement invariance across these settings. The results suggest measurement invariance of the presumed five-factor structure for the parent version and a six-factor structure for the adolescent version.

Social skills group training in children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

In 122 high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; 9-13 years; 19 girls), we investigated the effectiveness of a 15-session social skills group training (SST) with and without parent and teacher involvement (PTI) in a randomized controlled trial with three conditions: SST (n = 47), SST-PTI (n = 51), and care-as-usual (CAU, n = 24). Hierarchical linear modeling was used for immediate and 6-month follow-up analyses. Measures were administered before randomization (blind), post-treatment and at follow-up (not blind).

Network Analysis of Anxiety in the Autism Realm.

The anxiety and autism realms are each complicated and heterogeneous, and relationships between the two areas are especially complex. Network analysis offers a promising approach to the phenotypic complexities of typical and atypical human behavior. The Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) was used to assess anxiety in 126 high-functioning 9-13 year-olds with ASDs.

ADHD Symptoms in Middle Adolescence Predict Exposure to Person-Related Life Stressors in Late Adolescence in 5-HTTLPR S-allele Homozygotes.

Literature suggests that life stressors predict attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and that this relationship is moderated by the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR). It is less clear whether, on reverse, ADHD symptoms may influence the risk of exposure to life stressors. Furthermore, the role of life stressors may vary across development depending on the type of life stressor.