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Longitudinal comparison between male and female preschool children with autism spectrum disorder

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Abstract

Epidemiological studies have highlighted a strong male bias in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however few studies have examined gender differences in autism symptoms, and available findings are inconsistent. The aim of the present study is to investigate the longitudinal gender differences in developmental profiles of 30 female and 30 male age-matched preschool children with ASD. All the children underwent a comprehensive evaluation at T0 and at T1. Our results have shown no significant interaction between time and gender for predicting autism symptoms, developmental quotient, parental stress, children’s adaptive skills and behavior problems. Shedding light on the developmental trajectories in ASD could help clinicians to recognize children with ASD at an earlier age and contribute to the development of appropriate treatments.

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Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank Giovanni Tripepi for his valuable guidance in the statistical analysis of data, interpretation of results and discussion on the themes addressed in this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, I.R.C.C.S. Children’s Hospital Bambino Gesù, Piazza S. Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy

    Valentina Postorino, Laura Maria Fatta, Lavinia De Peppo, Giulia Giovagnoli, Marco Armando, Stefano Vicari & Luigi Mazzone

  2. I.R.C.C.S. Centro Neuolesi “Bonino-Pulejo” Via Provinciale Palermo, S.S.113 Contrada Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy

    Laura Maria Fatta

  3. Psychology Department, Libera Universita’ Maria Ss. Assunta, Rome, Italy

    Lavinia De Peppo & Giulia Giovagnoli

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  1. Valentina Postorino
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  2. Laura Maria Fatta
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  3. Lavinia De Peppo
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  4. Giulia Giovagnoli
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  5. Marco Armando
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  6. Stefano Vicari
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  7. Luigi Mazzone
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Correspondence to Luigi Mazzone.

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Postorino, V., Fatta, L.M., De Peppo, L. et al. Longitudinal comparison between male and female preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 2046–2055 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2366-0

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