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Maternal Recurrent Mood Disorders and High-Functioning Autism

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Abstract

A quantitative examination was made of the association of parental mood and anxiety disorders with severity of disability within a large sample of young children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). Maternal recurrent mood disorders were associated with elevated cognitive and adaptive functioning in their affected children, parent reports of increased behavior problems and teacher reports of an internalizing behavioral style. Maternal histories of anxiety disorders and paternal depression or anxiety disorders were not associated with levels of adaptive/cognitive functioning or levels of maladaptive behaviors in the children. Various genetic models are discussed. It is hypothesized that genes associated with recurrent depression in women may exert a "protective" effect on cognition and adaptive functioning in children with PDD.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Adrienne Meryl for her assistance in the conduct of this study and to the many parents and teachers who participated. This research was supported, in part, by grants #12-FY99-211 and #12-FY03-42 from the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and by funds from the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Psychology and George A. Jervis Clinic, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA

    Ira L. Cohen & John A. Tsiouris

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  1. Ira L. Cohen
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  2. John A. Tsiouris
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Correspondence to Ira L. Cohen.

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Cohen, I.L., Tsiouris, J.A. Maternal Recurrent Mood Disorders and High-Functioning Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 36, 1077–1088 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0145-7

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