Characterization of Clinical Manifestations in the Co-occurring Phenotype of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Alessandra Carta¹  Elisa Fuc๠ Silvia Guerrera¹  Eleonora Napoli¹  Giovanni Valeri¹  Stefano Vicari¹ 

[1] Department of Neurosciences, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital;Section of Child Neuropsychiatry, Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari;Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

关键词: neurodevelopmental disorders;    psychopathological profile;    behavioral problems;    autism spectrum disorder;    attention deficit hyperactivity/impulsivity disorder;    externalizing problems;    internalizing problems;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00861

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Comorbidity between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a frequently reported condition. However, the clinical overlaps between the two disorders are not well characterized. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is a well-documented measure of emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether CBCL scales were able to detect psychopathological comorbidities as well as emotional and behavioral profiles across three groups of children with ASD, ADHD, and with the co-occurrence of both disorders. The results show that around 30% of participants with ASD exhibited internalizing problems, which was in line with previous findings. Co-occurrence condition showed a clinical intermediate phenotype: relative to ADHD and ASD, youths with co-occurrence of ADHD and ASD phenotype showed respectively lower ( p 0.05) across groups. CBCL is a useful measure to study the psychopathological conditions as well as emotional and behavioral profiles associated with ASD, ADHD, and the co-occurrence of ADHD and ASD. The identification of psychopathological and behavioral profiles associated with ASD and ADHD is crucial to perform specific and individualized treatments. Our preliminary findings suggested the existence of an intermediate and independent phenotype between ADHD and ASD that seems to be defined by the externalizing problems. Internalizing problems do not significantly differ between the combined phenotype and the two groups.

【 授权许可】

CC BY