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The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) Profile in Young Children on the Autism Spectrum: The Impact of Child and Family Factors

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Abstract

High levels of emotional/behavioural difficulties are frequently reported in children on the autism spectrum. However, given the diversity in profiles, there is a need to explore such behaviours in relation to individual factors. Parents of 130 children aged 4–5 on the autism spectrum completed measures of behaviour and adaptive behaviour. Hierarchical multiple regressions explored child and family characteristics in relation to children’s emotional/behavioural presentation. Different aspects of the behavioural profile were associated with different factors, with child autism characteristics, medication use, and parent mental health making significant unique contributions to a range of behavioural subscales. Understanding individual profiles beyond total scores is therefore needed to truly understand the emotional and behavioural profile of specific subgroups.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the children with autism and their families for giving their time to support this research study. The authors acknowledge the work of the LASA team members: Susan Bruck, Trevor Clark, Sandra Devaraj, Robyn Garland, Honey Heussler, Antoinette Hodge, Patricia Howlin, Kate Simpson, Natalie Silove, David Trembath, Madonna Tucker, Marleen Westerveld, and Katrina Williams.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program (Project 2.007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Autism Centre of Excellence, School of Education and Professional Studies, and Griffith Institute for Educational Research, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, Brisbane, QLD, 4122, Australia

    Dawn Adams, Megan Clark, Jacqueline Roberts & Deb Keen

  2. Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Dawn Adams, Jessica Paynter, Megan Clark, Jacqueline Roberts & Deb Keen

  3. School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute Queensland Griffith University, Gold Coast, Southport, Australia

    Jessica Paynter

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  1. Dawn Adams
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  5. Deb Keen
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Contributions

DA coordinated the data cleaning, performed the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data and drafted the manuscript; JP participated in the design of the study and helped to draft the manuscript; MC participated in the statistical analysis and helped to draft the manuscript, JR conceived the study and participated in its design and coordination; DK conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dawn Adams.

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Adams, D., Paynter, J., Clark, M. et al. The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) Profile in Young Children on the Autism Spectrum: The Impact of Child and Family Factors. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 3426–3439 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04067-0

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