Sociodemographic factors in Arab children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Introduction

There is a critical gap in Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) research with respect to manifestations of the condition in developing countries This study examined the influence of sociodemographic variables on the severity of autistic symptoms and behavioral profile in Arab children.

Methods

The total study sample comprised of 60 Arab children (38 boys and 22 girls) from three Arab countries (22 Jordanians, 19 Saudis and 19 Egyptians). The diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) was based on DSM-IV criteria supplemented by direct observation according to the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA) and assessment of Intelligent Quotient (IQ). Finally, parents rated their child on the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

Results

It was found that the housewives and Saudi parents described more autistic symptoms and externalizing behavior problems. A significant negative correlation was found between IQ and each of ISAA, CBCL Internalizing and Externalizing problems scores.

Conclusion

The study concluded that the clinical presentation of ASD may be shaped by cultural factors that are likely to help to formulate specific diagnosis and intervention techniques in Arab children with ASD.

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Most cited references 39

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Patterns of competence and adjustment among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful families.

Susie D. Lamborn, Nina S Mounts, Laurence Steinberg … (1991)

In order to test Maccoby and Martin's revision of Baumrind's conceptual framework, the families of approximately 4,100 14-18-year-olds were classified into 1 of 4 groups (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, or neglectful) on the basis of the adolescents' ratings of their parents on 2 dimensions: acceptance/involvement and strictness/supervision. The youngsters were then contrasted along 4 sets of outcomes: psychosocial development, school achievement, internalized distress, and problem behavior. Results indicate that adolescents who characterize their parents as authoritative score highest on measures of psychosocial competence and lowest on measures of psychological and behavioral dysfunction; the reverse is true for adolescents who describe their parents as neglectful. Adolescents whose parents are characterized as authoritarian score reasonably well on measures indexing obedience and conformity to the standards of adults but have relatively poorer self-conceptions than other youngsters. In contrast, adolescents from indulgent homes evidence a strong sense of self-confidence but report a higher frequency of substance abuse and school misconduct and are less engaged in school. The results provide support for Maccoby and Martin's framework and indicate the need to distinguish between two types of "permissive" families: those that are indulgent and those that are neglectful.

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Management of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Scott M. Myers, Chris Johnson (2007)

Pediatricians have an important role not only in early recognition and evaluation of autism spectrum disorders but also in chronic management of these disorders. The primary goals of treatment are to maximize the child's ultimate functional independence and quality of life by minimizing the core autism spectrum disorder features, facilitating development and learning, promoting socialization, reducing maladaptive behaviors, and educating and supporting families. To assist pediatricians in educating families and guiding them toward empirically supported interventions for their children, this report reviews the educational strategies and associated therapies that are the primary treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders. Optimization of health care is likely to have a positive effect on habilitative progress, functional outcome, and quality of life; therefore, important issues, such as management of associated medical problems, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic intervention for challenging behaviors or coexisting mental health conditions, and use of complementary and alternative medical treatments, are also addressed.

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Evidence-based comprehensive treatments for early autism.

Sally Rogers, Laurie Vismara (2008)

Early intervention for children with autism is currently a politically and scientifically complex topic. Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated positive effects in both short-term and longer term studies. The evidence suggests that early intervention programs are indeed beneficial for children with autism, often improving developmental functioning and decreasing maladaptive behaviors and symptom severity at the level of group analysis. Whether such changes lead to significant improvements in terms of greater independence and vocational and social functioning in adulthood is also unknown. Given the few randomized controlled treatment trials that have been carried out, the few models that have been tested, and the large differences in interventions that are being published, it is clear that the field is still very early in the process of determining (a) what kinds of interventions are most efficacious in early autism, (b) what variables moderate and mediate treatment gains and improved outcomes following intervention, and (c) the degree of both short-term and long-term improvements that can reasonably be expected. To examine these current research needs, the empirical studies of comprehensive treatments for young children with autism published since 1998 were reviewed. Lovaas's treatment meet Chambless and colleague's (Chambless et al., 1998; Chambless et al., 1996) criteria for "well-established" and no treatment meets the "probably efficacious" criteria, though three treatments meet criteria for "possibly efficacious" (Chambless & Hollon, 1998). Most studies were either Type 2 or 3 in terms of their methodological rigor based on Nathan and Gorman's (2002) criteria. Implications of these findings are also discussed in relation to practice guidelines as well as critical areas of research that have yet to be answered.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Pan Afr Med J

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Pan Afr Med J

Journal ID (publisher-id): PAMJ

Title: The Pan African Medical Journal

Publisher: The African Field Epidemiology Network

ISSN (Electronic): 1937-8688

Publication date (Electronic): 26 November 2012

Publication date Collection: 2012

Volume: 13

Electronic Location Identifier: 65

Affiliations

[1 ]Assistant Prof. of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

[2 ]Assistant Prof. of Pediatrics, College of Medicine in King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia

[3 ]Consultant of Psychiatry, National center for Mental Health Hospital, Amman, Jordan

[4 ]Assistant Prof. of Pediatrics, College of Medicine in Al-Azhar University, Egypt

[5 ]Consultant of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Hospital in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

[6 ]Professor of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Mansoura, Egypt

[7 ]Lecturer of Psychology, College of education, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia

Author notes

[& ]Corresponding author: Mostafa Amr, Assistant Prof. of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

Article

Publisher ID: PAMJ-13-65

DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2012.13.65.1839

PMC ID: 3549448

PubMed ID: 23346279

SO-VID: e0181032-1e5e-4de0-8123-3259325660aa

License:

The Pan African Medical Journal - ISSN 1937-8688. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Sociodemographic factors in Arab children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

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Most cited references 39

Patterns of competence and adjustment among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful families.

Management of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Evidence-based comprehensive treatments for early autism.

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