Psychiatric symptoms in children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: An examination of gender differences
Research highlights
▶ Looking at differences between autistic males and females is important. ▶ Comorbid psychopathology is a growing area of study. ▶ While differences in specific disorders such as phobias have been found in previous studies, differences in general psychopathology across gender were not found here.
Section snippets
Participants
One hundred and twenty-nine children and adolescents were recruited for the study via community organizations, schools, and outpatient clinics throughout the United States. Participants ranged in age from 4 to 16 years (M = 8.34; SD = 3.09). Table 1 includes demographic information on the participants. Individuals studied had an IQ greater than 70; therefore, indicating that no individual diagnosed with an intellectual disability (ID) was included. Out of the 129 participants selected for
Results
The variances of the two groups was significantly different, F(3, 117) = 24.73, p < .001. Therefore, correctional formulas were used to compare the mean symptom endorsements for males and females with and without ASD. The main effect of group was significant, F(3, 117) = 38.81, p < .001. Games–Howell post hoc test was utilized to follow-up the significant main effect as equal variances were not assumed. Post hoc analyses showed that both males (M = 22.34) and females (M = 25.50) with ASD scored
Discussion
ASD has been a highly studied topic (Matson et al., 2009b, Matson et al., 2007, Matson and Rivet, 2008, Matson et al., 2008b). Despite this, few researchers have examined gender differences within ASD. Studies that have been conducted primarily focused on detecting gender differences in the core features of ASD itself (Lord et al., 1982, McLennan et al., 1993, Nicholas et al., 2008). The aim of the current study was to determine if males and females with ASD significantly differed in rates of
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