Elsevier

Psychiatry Research

Volume 52, Issue 1, April 1994, Pages 25-33
Psychiatry Research

Depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in hyperserotonemic parents of children with autistic disorder

https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(94)90117-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Because of previous findings that parents of children with autistic disorder may be at increased risk for anxiety disorders and/or mood disorders, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale and the Modified Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MMOCI) were administered to parents of children with autistic disorder and parents of children with Down's syndrome. Parents with normal whole blood serotonin levels who had children with autistic disorder and parents of children with Down's syndrome had significantly lower CES-D depression scores than parents with elevated whole blood serotonin levels who had children with autistic disorder. Hyperserotonemic parents of children with autistic disorder had significantly higher MMOCI scores than parents of children with Down's syndrome.

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    Julie Spohn, B.A., was an undergraduate student at the University of Chicago when this study was conducted.

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