Table 1.
Sample characteristics
| Variable | ASD sample
|
non-ASD samples
|
Community samples
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–5 years (n = 210) | 6–12 years (n = 398) | 3–5 years (n = 135) | 6–12 years (n = 191) | 3–5 years
|
6–12 years
|
|||
| Parent (n = 507) | Teacher (n = 407) | Parent (n = 385) | Teacher (n = 404) | |||||
| Age (M/SD) | 4.2 (0.8) | 8.4 (1.9) | 4.6 (0.6) | 8.7 (2.0) | 3.9 (0.7) | 4.3 (0.7) | 8.9 (2.0) | 8.0 (1.6) |
| Gender (males; F/%) | 166 (79) | 336 (84) | 99 (73) | 136 (71) | 264 (52) | 233 (57) | 186 (48) | 207 (51) |
| IQ (M/SD) | (n = 76) | (n = 268) | (n = 58) | (n = 82) | ||||
| 91 (17.6) | 92 (22.7) | 92 (14.4) | 98 (15.8) | NA | NA | NA | NA | |
| Ethnic status (F/%) | ||||||||
| Caucasian | 195 (94) | 368 (94) | 111 (82) | 159 (86) | 285 (75) | 459 (80) | 313 (90) | 389 (96) |
| African–American | 2 (1) | 9 (2) | 13 (10) | 17 (9) | 54 (14) | 76 (13) | 6 (2) | 2 (1) |
| Latino/a | 6 (3) | 6 (1) | 10 (7) | 6 (3) | 36 (10) | 29 (5) | 14 (4) | 4 (1) |
| Other | 4 (2) | 10 (3) | 1 (1) | 3 (2) | 4 (1) | 7 (2) | 14 (4) | 9 (2) |
| Special education (F/%) | 192 (92) | 336 (85) | 70 (52) | 63 (33) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Medication (F/%) | 14 (7) | 156 (40) | 13 (10) | 27 (14) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.2) | 7 (2) | 8 (2) |
| SES (F/%) | (n = 209) | (n = 396) | (n = 100) | (n = 176) | (n = 356) | (n = 337) | ||
| Lower (1–3) | 18 (9) | 41 (10) | 18 (18) | 42 (24) | 48 (14) | NA | 21 (6) | NA |
| Middle (4–6) | 101 (48) | 185 (47) | 47 (47) | 94 (53) | 189 (53) | NA | 154 (46) | NA |
| Upper (7–9) | 90 (43) | 170 (43) | 35 (35) | 40 (23) | 119 (33) | NA | 162 (48) | NA |
| Income level (M/SD) | 4.3 (1.0) | 4.3 (0.9) | 3.1 (1.5) | 3.4 (1.2) | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Single parent (F/%) | 15 (7) | 54 (14) | NA | 42 (24) | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| ASD subtype | ||||||||
| Autistic disorder | 81 (39) | 133 (33) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Asperger’s disorder | 27 (13) | 109 (27) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| ASD-NOS | 102 (48) | 156 (40) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Note: SES, socioeconomic status assessed with Hollingshead’s (1975) 9-point index of occupational status; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; income level (low = 1, high = 5); and NA, not applicable