Relationship between Comorbid Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Parental Well-being

Figures & data

Table 1. Current comorbid diagnosis of children

Characteristic	n	%
Comorbid diagnosis
Intellectual Disability	60	39.5
Migraines	16	10.5
Epilepsy	13	8.6
Psychological Disorder
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD)	44	28.9
Generalized Anxiety Disorder	16	10.5
Social anxiety disorder	5	3.3
Other anxiety disorders ^a	15	9.9
Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Constipation	56	36.8
Abdominal pain	36	23.7
Diarrhea	25	16.4
Bloating	24	15.8
Nausea	21	13.8
Other GI Symptom	9	5.9
Currently on Medication	69	45.4
Currently on Melatonin	43	28.3

^aIncludes selective mutism, OCD, separation anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and panic disorde

Table 2. ASD-CC subscale means, standard deviations, level of impairment, and frequencies

Factor	M	SD	Level of impairment	% (n)
Tantrum behaviors	10.59	4.57	No/Minimal impairment	52.1% (79)
			Moderate impairment	26.3% (40)
			Severe impairment	21.7% (33)
Repetitive behaviors	7.59	4.24	No/Minimal impairment	63.8% (97)
			Moderate impairment	20.4% (31)
			Severe impairment	15.8% (24)
Worry/Depressed	6.61	3.11	No/Minimal impairment	28.9% (44)
			Moderate impairment	45.4% (69)
			Severe impairment	25.7% (39)
Avoidant behaviors	7.25	3.14	No/Minimal impairment	42.1% (64)
			Moderate impairment	24.3% (37)
			Severe impairment	33.6% (15)
Under-eating	1.70	2.15	No/Minimal impairment	53.9%, (82)
			Moderate impairment	30.3% (46)
			Severe impairment	15.8% (24)
Conduct behaviors	4.01	3.63	No/Minimal impairment	41.4% (63)
			Moderate impairment	21.7% (33)
			Severe impairment	36.8% (56)
Over-eating	2.00	2.04	No/Minimal impairment	63.2% (96)
			Moderate impairment	23.0% (35)
			Severe Impairment	13.8% (21)

Table 3. Means and standard deviations of parental well-being measures

Scale	M	SD
WHOQOL-BREF
Physical Health	59.11	22.01
Psychological	49.10	20.49
Social Relationships	48.35	24.85
Environment	59.38	18.79
PSQI Total Score	10.11	3.85
Subjective Sleep Quality	1.64	0.83
Sleep Latency	2.26	0.85
Sleep Duration	1.39	0.88
Sleep Efficiency	1.36	1.24
Sleep Disturbance	1.49	0.64
Use of Sleep Medication	0.55	1.07
Daytime Dysfunction	1.45	0.80
PSI-SF Total Score	94.36	23.09
Defensive Responding	17.48	6.19
Parental Distress	31.01	10.14
Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction	34.26	8.71
Difficult Child	29.10	7.88
HADS
Depression	9.05	4.48
Anxiety	11.67	4.60
MSPSS	50.83	17.66

Table 4. Difference between tantrum behavior severity for dependent variables

Dependent variable		Tantrum severity	M	F	p	Partial eta squared
QoL (WHO-BREF Psychological)		No/minimal impairment	56.00	10.64	.000**	.125
		Moderate impairment	42.63
		Severe impairment	40.42
Stress (PSI-SF Total)		No/minimal impairment	106.06	29.25	.000**	.282
		Moderate impairment	83.05
		Severe impairment	80.06
Anxiety (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	10.09	11.43	.000**	.133
		Moderate impairment	13.02
		Severe impairment	13.82
Depression (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	7.48	11.82	.000**	.137
		Moderate impairment	10.38
		Severe impairment	11.18
Social support (MSPSS)		No/minimal impairment	55.51	6.25	.002	.077
		Moderate impairment	46.50
		Severe impairment	44.88
Sleep (PSQI)		No/minimal impairment	9.28	4.635	.011	.059
		Moderate impairment	10.58
	Severe impairment		11.55

**p < .001

Table 5. Difference between repetitive behavior severity for dependent variables

Dependent variable		Repetitive behavior severity	M	F	p	Partial eta squared
QoL (WHO-BREF Psychological)		No/minimal impairment	51.47	2.638	.075	.034
		Moderate impairment	41.87
		Severe impairment	48.83
Stress (PSI-SF Total)		No/minimal impairment	99.54	8.45	.000**	.102
		Moderate impairment	81.45
		Severe impairment	90.13
Anxiety (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	10.88	4.229	.016	.054
		Moderate impairment	13.23
		Severe impairment	12.88
Depression (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	8.27	4.318	.015	.055
		Moderate impairment	10.65
		Severe impairment	10.13
Social support (MSPSS)		No/minimal impairment	51.95	.539	.585	.007
		Moderate impairment	48.68
		Severe impairment	49.08
Sleep (PSQI)		No/minimal impairment	9.67	1.862	.159	.024
		Moderate impairment	10.71
	Severe impairment		11.13

**p < .001

Table 6. Difference between worry/depressed severity for dependent variables

Dependent variable		Worry/depressed severity	M	F	p	Partial eta squared
QoL (WHO-BREF Psychological)		No/minimal impairment	60.46	11.20	.000**	.131
		Moderate impairment	45.73
		Severe impairment	42.26
Stress (PSI-SF Total)		No/minimal impairment	110.11	18.38	.000**	.198
		Moderate impairment	86.23
		Severe impairment	90.97
Anxiety (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	9.48	7.95	.001**	.096
		Moderate impairment	12.35
		Severe impairment	12.95
Depression (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	6.70	9.45	.000**	.112
		Moderate impairment	9.96
		Severe impairment	10.08
Social support (MSPSS)		No/minimal impairment	57.32	6.109	.003*	.076
		Moderate impairment	45.94
		Severe impairment	52.15
Sleep (PSQI)		No/minimal impairment	9.09	2.251	.109	.029
		Moderate impairment	10.45
	Severe impairment		10.67

*p < .008, **p < .001

Table 7. Difference between avoidant behavior severity for dependent variables

Dependent variable		Avoidant behavior severity	M	F	p	Partial eta squared
QoL (WHO-BREF Psychological)		No/minimal impairment	55.20	6.24	.002**	.077
		Moderate impairment	41.16
		Severe impairment	47.20
Stress (PSI-SF Total)		No/minimal impairment	104.42	12.63	.000**	.139
		Moderate impairment	86.41
		Severe impairment	87.51
Anxiety (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	10.34	5.24	.006**	.066
		Moderate impairment	12.16
		Severe impairment	12.98
Depression (HADS)		No/minimal impairment	7.50	7.15	.001**	.088
		Moderate impairment	10.30
		Severe impairment	10.08
Social support (MSPSS)		No/minimal impairment	52.47	.847	.431	.011
		Moderate impairment	47.73
		Severe impairment	51.02
Sleep (PSQI)		No/minimal impairment	9.11	5.07	.007**	.064
		Moderate impairment	10.14
	Severe impairment		11.35

**p < .001

Table 8. Difference between conduct severity for dependent variables

Dependent variable	Conduct severity	M	F	p	Partial eta squared
QoL (WHO-BREF Psychological)	No/minimal impairment	53.83	3.129	.047	.040
	Moderate impairment	47.46
	Severe impairment	44.75
Stress (PSI-SF Total)	No/minimal impairment	104.22	11.31	.000**	.132
	Moderate impairment	89.06
	Severe impairment	86.39
Anxiety (HADS)	No/minimal impairment	10.87	4.93	.008	.062
	Moderate impairment	10.67
	Severe impairment	13.16
Depression (HADS)	No/minimal impairment	8.33	1.777	.173	.023
	Moderate impairment	9.00
	Severe impairment	9.88
Social support (MSPSS)	No/minimal impairment	55.06	3.182	.044	.041
	Moderate impairment	47.79
	Severe impairment	47.86
Sleep (PSQI)	No/minimal impairment	10.25	.744	.477	.010
	Moderate impairment	9.39
	Severe impairment	10.38

**p < .001