Autism spectrum disorder symptoms in juvenile suspects of sex offenses.

Autor:	't Hart-Kerkhoffs LA; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Duivendrecht, The Netherlands. l.thart@debascule.com, Jansen LM, Doreleijers TA, Vermeiren R, Minderaa RB, Hartman CA
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	The Journal of clinical psychiatry [J Clin Psychiatry] 2009 Feb; Vol. 70 (2), pp. 266-72. Date of Electronic Publication: 2009 Feb 10.
DOI:	10.4088/jcp.08m04635
Abstrakt:	Objective: To investigate autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms in juvenile suspects of sex offenses. Method: A group of 175 juvenile suspected sex offenders (all males, mean +/- SD age = 14.9 +/- 1.4 years) was compared with a matched healthy control group (N = 500, mean +/- SD age = 14.0 +/- 1.4 years) and a group of children with DSM-IV-diagnosed ASD (N = 114, mean +/- SD age = 14.2 +/- 1.9 years) with respect to autistic symptoms as measured by means of a standardized questionnaire, the Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire. Furthermore, specific subgroups of sexual offenders, i.e., child molesters, solo peer offenders, and group offenders, were compared with regard to levels of ASD symptoms. The study was conducted from May 2003 to December 2006. Results: Significantly higher levels of ASD symptoms were found in juvenile sex offenders than in healthy controls, while levels were lower than in the ASD group (F = 148.259, p < .05). Solo peer offenders and child molesters scored higher on several subscales as well as on core autistic symptoms than group offenders (F = 5.127, p < .05). Conclusions: Levels of ASD symptoms are higher in juvenile suspects of sex offenses as compared to the healthy population, which argues for considering specific diagnostic assessment in this population, especially in solo offenders and child molesters. (Copyright 2009 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:	Zobrazit plný text záznamu