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Temperament and its Relationship to Autistic Symptoms in a High-Risk Infant Sib Cohort

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Abstract

The present study prospectively investigated early temperamental profiles and their associations with autistic symptoms in high-risk infants (N = 138) with an older sibling with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and low-risk infants (N = 73) with no family history of ASD. Children who were diagnosed with ASD at 36 months were distinguished from non-ASD sibs and controls by a temperament profile marked by lower positive affect, higher negative affect and difficulty controlling attention and behavior, which we labeled Effortful Emotion Regulation. This profile also distinguished the non-ASD sib group from the control group. Children with ASD were distinguished from both of the other two groups by a temperament profile of low Behavioral Approach (lower sensitivity to “social” reward cues). Low levels of Behavioral Approach were associated with a higher number of ASD symptoms, even after taking into account IQ, sex and group membership. Finally, a cluster analysis revealed two ASD subgroups distinguished by number of ASD symptoms, IQ, age of diagnosis and scores on the Behavioral Approach profile. These findings suggest that temperament may be a useful framework for understanding the emergence of ASD early in life.

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Acknowledgement

This study was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Autism Speaks and a research fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to Dr. Garon. We thank the families for their generous support of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Nancy Garon, Susan E. Bryson & Isabel M. Smith

  2. Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Susan E. Bryson & Isabel M. Smith

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Lonnie Zwaigenbaum

  4. Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Jessica Brian & Wendy Roberts

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Peter Szatmari

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  1. Nancy Garon
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  2. Susan E. Bryson
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  3. Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
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  4. Isabel M. Smith
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  5. Jessica Brian
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  6. Wendy Roberts
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  7. Peter Szatmari
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Correspondence to Nancy Garon.

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Garon, N., Bryson, S.E., Zwaigenbaum, L. et al. Temperament and its Relationship to Autistic Symptoms in a High-Risk Infant Sib Cohort. J Abnorm Child Psychol 37, 59–78 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9258-0

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