Jessica L Greenlee1, Marica A Winter2, Marie Johnson2. 1. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Waisman Center, USA. Electronic address: jlgreenlee@wisc.edu. 2. Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Psychology, USA.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Although research on mental health comorbidities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in recent years, little has been done to evaluate potential individual × environment interactions associated with these comorbidities. The current study explored whether ASD-related characteristics (social-communication impairment) and environmental factors (peer and family contexts) had additive or interactive effects on the depression symptoms of youth with ASD. METHOD: In a cross-sectional sample of adolescents with ASD (N = 176; 13-17 years old; 72.7% male), primary caregivers and adolescents responded to a series of surveys online pertaining to adolescents' mental health (Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale), family functioning (Self-Report of Family Inventory), and experiences of peer victimization (Peer Experiences Questionnaire-Revised). RESULTS: There were statistically significant interactions between social-communication skills and the environment in both family (△R2 = 0.02) and peer (△R2 = 0.02) contexts. For youth with better social-communication skills, there was a positive association between peer victimization and depression symptoms and a negative association between family competence and depression symptoms. CONCLUSION: Findings support social-push interactive models in which better social-communication skills are associated with fewer depression symptoms in the context of less-stressful peer and family environments, highlight the utility of ecologically informed approaches to the mental health of youth with ASD, and suggest several areas for future study.
INTRODUCTION: Although research on mental health comorbidities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in recent years, little has been done to evaluate potential individual × environment interactions associated with these comorbidities. The current study explored whether ASD-related characteristics (social-communication impairment) and environmental factors (peer and family contexts) had additive or interactive effects on the depression symptoms of youth with ASD. METHOD: In a cross-sectional sample of adolescents with ASD (N = 176; 13-17 years old; 72.7% male), primary caregivers and adolescents responded to a series of surveys online pertaining to adolescents' mental health (Revised ChildAnxiety and Depression Scale), family functioning (Self-Report of Family Inventory), and experiences of peer victimization (Peer Experiences Questionnaire-Revised). RESULTS: There were statistically significant interactions between social-communication skills and the environment in both family (△R2 = 0.02) and peer (△R2 = 0.02) contexts. For youth with better social-communication skills, there was a positive association between peer victimization and depression symptoms and a negative association between family competence and depression symptoms. CONCLUSION: Findings support social-push interactive models in which better social-communication skills are associated with fewer depression symptoms in the context of less-stressful peer and family environments, highlight the utility of ecologically informed approaches to the mental health of youth with ASD, and suggest several areas for future study.
Authors: Paul A Harris; Robert Taylor; Robert Thielke; Jonathon Payne; Nathaniel Gonzalez; Jose G Conde Journal: J Biomed Inform Date: 2008-09-30 Impact factor: 6.317
Authors: Chad Ebesutani; Steven P Reise; Bruce F Chorpita; Chelsea Ale; Jennifer Regan; John Young; Charmaine Higa-McMillan; John R Weisz Journal: Psychol Assess Date: 2012-02-13