The relationship between race and challenging behaviours in infants and toddlers with autistic disorder and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the contributions of race and diagnostic category to endorsement rates of challenging behaviours in infants and toddlers with autism, PDD-NOS and atypical development without ASD, using the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits, Part-3 (BISCUIT Part-3). DESIGN: Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) on each sub-scale of the BISCUIT Part-3. Follow-up univariate analyses and post-hoc tests as needed. METHODS: Scores on the BISCUIT Part-3 were compared for 453 Caucasian and 409 African-American infants and toddlers, grouped by race and diagnosis. RESULTS: Significant differences between races were found on five out of 10 aggressive behaviours, while no significant differences were found on self-injurious or stereotypic behaviours. Significant differences between diagnostic groups were found on all behaviours. CONCLUSION: Cultural factors should be taken into account when examining challenging behaviours in infants and toddlers with ASD.