Caregiver Psychological Distress Predicts Temperament and Social-Emotional Outcomes in Infants with Autism Traits

L Chetcuti; M Uljarević; KJ Varcin; M Boutrus; S Pillar; S Dimov; J Barbaro; C Dissanayake; J Green; MW Wan; L Segal; V Slonims; AJO Whitehouse; K Hudry; T Iacono; M Maybery; M Renton; N Sadka; S Wakeling; J Wray

Journal article

Caregiver Psychological Distress Predicts Temperament and Social-Emotional Outcomes in Infants with Autism Traits

L Chetcuti, M Uljarević, KJ Varcin, M Boutrus, S Pillar, S Dimov, J Barbaro, C Dissanayake, J Green, MW Wan, L Segal, V Slonims, AJO Whitehouse, K Hudry, T Iacono, M Maybery, M Renton, N Sadka, S Wakeling, J Wray

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology | SPRINGER | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.1007/s10802-021-00838-5

Abstract

Child temperament and caregiver psychological distress have been independently associated with social-emotional difficulties among individuals with autism. However, the interrelationship among these risk factors has rarely been investigated. We explored the reciprocal interplay between child temperament (surgency, negative affectivity, and self-regulation) and caregiver psychological distress in the development of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, in a cohort of 103 infants showing early autism traits. Caregivers completed questionnaires when children were aged around 12-months (Time 1 [T1]), 18-months (Time 2 [T2]), and 24-months (Time 3 [T3]). Cross-lagged path models reveale..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Mirko Uljarevic Author

Stefanie Dimov Author

Related Projects (1)

EMOTIONAL AND SOCIO-COMMUNICATIVE DOMAINS IN DEVELOPMENT

This project aims to test whether Research Domain Criteria are effective in predicting developmental outcomes, for example educational attai..

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This study formed part of LC's PhD research, supported by scholarships from La Trobe University and the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), established and supported under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Program. The larger trial from which these data were available was funded by grants from the Telethon-Perth Children's Hospital, Autism CRC, La Trobe University Understanding Disease Research Focus Area, and the Angela Wright Bennett Foundation. MU is supported by a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Research Council (DE180100632) and AJOW is supported by an Investigator Grant from the National Health and Medical Council (#APP1173896). JG is a UK NIHR Senior Investigator, the views expressed are not necessarily those of the NIHR or the UK Department of Health.