Brief Report: Relationships Between Caregiver-Reported Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers

Early detection and intervention are associated with improved outcomes for autistic children. Thus, it is important to understand factors influencing early screening tools designed to detect autism. This study examined the relationship between caregiver-reported emotional and behavioral symptoms and children’s scores on a commonly used autism screening questionnaire, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F).

Toddlers were recruited from four primary care clinics between 2018 and 2021. Their caregivers completed the M-CHAT-R/F as well as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), a well-validated, normed measure of emotional and behavioral functioning. Correlational and group analyses were evaluated to examine relationships between CBCL scales and M-CHAT-R/F scores.

1765 toddlers were recruited for the study. CBCL scores for the internalizing, externalizing, autism, ADHD, and anxiety scales were all modestly positively correlated with M-CHAT-R/F scores. Compared to toddlers with elevated autism scale scores only, toddlers with elevations in both autism and ADHD/externalizing scales had higher M-CHAT-R/F scores. In contrast, no significant difference in scores were found between toddlers with elevated autism scale scores only compared to those with elevated scores on both autism and internalizing scales.

Findings suggest that, for children with elevated autism behaviors, the presence of externalizing symptoms, including ADHD-related concerns, is associated with elevated scores on the M-CHAT-R/F. In contrast, internalizing symptoms did not show an association with elevated M-CHAT-R/F scores among toddlers with elevated autism-related behaviors. Interpretation of the M-CHAT-R/F should include consideration of co-occurring psychiatric conditions, especially externalizing conditions such as ADHD.