Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) traits may be present in parents of children on the autism spectrum. However, the prevalence and impact of these traits on parental mental health is poorly understood. We explore BAP traits and its relationship to mental health in 228 fathers and 261 mothers from a sample of 266 scholars from the EPINED study (Spain) grouped as follows: non-autism (N = 122), autism traits (N = 93: 38 subthreshold autism and 55 autism symptoms) and autism (N = 51).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comorbidity in the school population have been understudied. This study estimates its prevalence considering both parents' and teachers' reports and clinical diagnosis. Sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive data were compared by diagnostic groups: autism, ADHD, autism and ADHD, subthreshold autism spectrum disorder (ASD), subthreshold ADHD, and children without neurodevelopmental conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn early detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs) is crucial for their prognosis; however, the clinical heterogeneity of some disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an obstacle to accurate diagnoses in children. In order to facilitate the screening process, the current study aimed to identify symptom-based clusters among a community-based sample of preschool and school-aged children, using behavioral characteristics reported by teachers. A total of 6894 children were assessed on four key variables: social communication differences, restricted behavior patterns, restless-impulsiveness, and emotional lability (pre-schoolers) or inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity (school-aged).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutistic individuals face a higher risk of various forms of victimization throughout their lives, with bullying being especially prevalent during their school years. Previous studies indicate that autistic children are 2.4 times more likely to be bullied than their typically developing peers and twice as vulnerable as those with other disabilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFew studies have examined the psychometric properties of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in a large adolescent community sample, finding a significant disparity. This study explores the psychometric properties of the CD-RISC among Spanish adolescents by means of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Rasch analysis, and measurement invariance (MI) across sex, as well as internal consistency and criterion validity. The sample was comprised of 463 adolescents (231 girls), aged 12 to 18 years, who completed the CD-RISC and other measures on emotional status and quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bullying is highly prevalent among children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study investigates self-perceived bullying victimization and related sociodemographic, psychopathological, cognitive, and academic characteristics in pre-adolescents with ADHD compared to controls.
Method: The participants were 424 pre-adolescents, 138 of whom had ADHD.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health
June 2023
Significant evidence does exist on the effectiveness of transdiagnostic interventions to improve emotional problems in clinical populations, and their application as universal and indicated prevention programs. However, no randomized controlled trials (RCT) studying selective transdiagnostic prevention intervention have been published. This is the first known RCT to evaluate the efficacy/effectiveness of an evidence-based selective prevention transdiagnostic program for emotional problems in adolescents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A current area of research interest is the association between ADHD and weight status. This paper aimed to describe the anthropometric status of school children with ADHD, considering age and clinical presentation (inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, or combined), compared with control children.
Methods: Participants came from the "Epidemiological Research Project on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" and consisted of 198 preschoolers (41 with ADHD) and 389 elementary school children (163 with ADHD).
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health
April 2023
Up to 9.5% of the world's population is diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), making it one of the most common childhood disorders. Air pollutants could be considered an environmental risk condition for ADHD, but few studies have specifically investigated the effect of prenatal exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) are often at risk of developing emotional problems.
Aims And Methods: The co-occurrence of anxiety and depression with ASD and/or ADHD was determined by exploring the association with children's clinical and neuropsychological functioning and their parent's mental health. To this end, we assessed 295 preschoolers (PRE; 4-5 years old) and 486 school-aged children (SCH; 10-11 years old) in Tarragona, Spain.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health
January 2023
Significant evidence does exist on the effectiveness of transdiagnostic interventions to improve emotional problems in clinical populations, and their application as universal and indicated prevention programs. However, no randomized controlled trials (RCT) studying selective transdiagnostic prevention intervention have been published. This is the first known RCT to evaluate the efficacy/effectiveness of an evidence-based selective prevention transdiagnostic program for emotional problems in adolescents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a fivefold elevated risk of developing eating problems, which predisposes them to nutritional deficiencies. This study assesses nutritional intake and adequacy in children with ASD, subdiagnostic autistic symptoms and typically developing (TD) children. Preschool children with ASD and subdiagnostic symptoms had slightly lower intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), vitamin D and vitamin B12.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents. A current area of interest is the association between ADHD and food consumption. The aim of this study was to determine the food consumption and dietary patterns of children with and without ADHD in relation to their age and ADHD presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerceived personal wellbeing tends to be lower in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), especially in the case of women. To develop the present study, the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI-A) was administered to a Spanish-speaking sample of women with ASD (N = 401) and self-diagnosed ASD (N = 343), women without ASD (N = 373) and men with ASD (N = 65) to compare their self-perceptions. Women with ASD showed significantly lower wellbeing rates than women in the control group for the total PWI-A and across all the domains, and there were no significant differences when compared with self-diagnosed women with ASD and men with ASD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder has been reported around the world over the past decade. However, the prevalence data for southern Europe seem to be lower than international reports and notable methodological differences have been reported among studies. The objective of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Epidemiological Research Project was to estimate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in a representative school sample of the province of Tarragona, Spain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood consumption in children with ASD, subclinical ASD and with typical development (TD), and their adequacy to dietary recommendations was studied. A school population sample of 77 children with ASD, 40 with subclinical ASD, and 333 with TD participated. Compared to children with TD, pre-schoolers with ASD consumed fewer raw vegetables and less fish and eggs, while primary school children consumed fewer legumes, raw vegetables, citrus fruits, cheese/yogurt and olive oil, and more meat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study makes a comparison between the growth status of pre-school and school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and typical development children. Pre-schoolers with autism spectrum disorder were taller than children with typical development. School-age children with autism spectrum disorder were more overweight/obese, had more body fat and a greater waist circumference and waist/height ratio than children with typical development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo report the ADHD estimated prevalence in Spain, considering differences in sex, age, presentation, and severity. This study has a two-phase design and forms part of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Epidemiological Research Project (EPINED). The ADHD screening was conducted through parent ( = 3,727) and teacher ( = 6,894).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study is to assess the relationship between pre- and perinatal factors and ADHD in a sample of scholars exploring differences between ADHD presentations and spectrum of severity. A total of 6720 scholars (aged 3-4 and 10-11) participated in a double-phase epidemiologic cross-sectional study (Epidemiological Study of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, EPINED), and a sample of 646 scholars (ADHD risk, ASD risk and controls without risk) were individually assessed in the second phase of the study. The ADHD diagnosis, based on DSM-5 criteria, was performed with the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders & Schizophrenia, Present & Lifetime Version.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The aim of the present study was to assess whether the nature of the main autistic features (i.e., social communication problems and repetitive and restrictive patterns) are better conceptualized as dimensional or categorical in a school population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study aims to assess the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschool and school-age children following a two-phase procedure. The screening phase was performed on a sample of 5555 children taking into account parent and teacher information. The individual assessment included the ADI-R, ADOS-2 and Wechsler scales.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTeacher's reports about child psychopathology are often useful because they make it possible to compare children's development within their normative peer group. The EDUTEA questionnaire aims to provide clinicians and researchers with a brief tool that can be used to screen autism spectrum disorders and social communication disorders in school settings. : It was designed according to DSM-5 criteria and validated in a sample of 2,660 Spanish schoolers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Childhood Autism Spectrum Test (CAST; Scott, Baron-Cohen, Bolton & Brayne, 2002) has proved to be a good test for screening autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and social communication problems. This study provides evidence on its psychometric properties, describe its validity for screening and provides data on its discriminative capabilities in a Spanish sample of 4-12 year-old children from community and clinical settings (N = 1460 and 36, respectively). Factorial and convergent validity is also assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo examine the psychometric properties of the Conners 3 ADHD Index (Conners 3 AI) and the Conners Early Children Global Index (Conners ECGI) parents' form (PF) and teachers' form (TF) in Spanish schoolers. Two-phase cross-sectional study. In the first phase, information was gathered from teachers ( 1,796) and parents ( = 882) of 4-5 and 10-11 year-old children.
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