Table 1.
Participant demographics and clinical characteristics
| Variable | Total sample | ASD subgroups based on disruptive behavior (DB) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy controls n = 44 |
Disruptive behavior n = 79 |
ASD n = 63 |
p value | With DB (ASD/DB+) n = 22 |
Without DB (ASD/DB−) n = 41 |
p value | |
| Age, years (SD) | 12.3 (1.8) | 11.7 (2.1) | 12.4 (1.9) | .09 | 12.5 (2) | 12.3 (1.9) | .74 |
| Male (n, %) | 29 (65.9) | 54 (68.4) | 47 (74.6) | .58 | 17 (77.3) | 30 (73.2) | .72 |
| Mean IQa (SD) | 111.3 (10) | 105.8 (13.7) | 104.9 (19.1) | .07 | 103.7 (16.8) | 105.6 (20.3) | .71 |
| Race (n, %) | .13 | .09 | |||||
| White | 28 (63.6) | 58 (73.4) | 54 (85.7) | 18 (81.8) | 36 (87.8) | ||
| Black | 9 (20.5) | 11 (13.9) | 2 (3.2) | 2 (9.1) | 0 | ||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1 (2.3) | 1 (1.3) | 1 (1.6) | 1 (4.5) | 0 | ||
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0 | 2 (2.5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Other/more than one race | 6 (13.6) | 7 (8.9) | 6 (9.5) | 1 (4.5) | 5 (12.2) | ||
| Ethnicity (n, %) | .45 | .41 | |||||
| Hispanic | 5 (11.4) | 14 (17.7) | 7 (11.1) | 1 (4.5) | 6 (14.6) | ||
| Non-Hispanic | 39 (88.6) | 65 (82.3) | 55 (88.7) | 21 (95.5) | 35 (85.4) | ||
| Mean CBCL aggression T score (SD) | 50.5 (1.8) | 75.3 (7.2) | 60.8 (11.2) | < .001bc | 72.9 (8.6) | 54.4 (5.8) | < .001b |
| Mean RPQ aggression total score (SD) | 2.5 (2.2) | 19.5 (6.7) | 10.1 (7.9) | < .001bc | 17.5 (7.8) | 6.1 (4.3) | < .001b |
| Mean SRS-2 total T score (SD) | 45 (5.7) | 62.3 (10.6) | 73.5 (9.5) | < .001bd | 79.2 (7.6) | 70.5 (9.2) | < .001b |
| Social communication interaction scale | 45 (7.7) | 63.1 (10.3) | 73.3 (9.8) | < .001bd | 78.5 (8.1) | 70.4 (9.6) | .001b |
| Restricted and repetitive behaviors scale | 43.8 (3.8) | 58.4 (11.2) | 71.9 (10.8) | < .001bd | 79.4 (7.7) | 67.9 (10.2) | < .001b |
| Mean ADOS-2 module 3 total score (SD) | 13.2 (4.2) | 15.2 (4.1) | 12.1 (3.9) | .005b | |||
| Social affect scale | 10.7 (3.7) | 11.9 (3.4) | 9.9 (3.7) | .04b | |||
| Restricted and repetitive behaviors scale | 2.6 (1.7) | 3.3 (1.7) | 2.2 (1.6) | .01b | |||
| Mean ADI-R subscale scores (SD) | |||||||
| Social interaction | 19.5 (5.3) | 20.2 (5.4) | 19.2 (5.2) | .47 | |||
| Communication | 15.3 (3.8) | 15.5 (3.5) | 15.2 (3.9) | .76 | |||
| DSM-5 diagnosis (n, %) | |||||||
| Oppositional defiant disorder | 56 (70.9) | 22 (28.2) | < .001b | 22 (100) | 0 | < .001b | |
| Conduct disorder | 3 (3.8) | 0 | .25 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Disruptive behavior disorder NOS | 4 (5.1) | 0 | .13 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder | 17 (21.5) | 0 | < .001b | 0 | 0 | ||
| Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder | 60 (75.9) | 35 (55.6) | .01b | 19 (86.4) | 16 (39) | < .001b | |
| Anxiety disorder | 19 (24.1) | 33 (52.4) | .001b | 9 (40.9) | 24 (58.5) | .18 | |
| Depressive disorder | 5 (6.3) | 3 (4.8) | 1 | 0 | 3 (7.3) | .54 | |
| Currently taking medication (n, %) | 34 (43) | 29 (46) | < .001b | 16 (72.7) | 13 (31.7) | .002b | |
| Type of medication (n, %) | |||||||
| Stimulants | 25 (31.6) | 12 (19) | .09 | 7 (31.8) | 5 (12.2) | .09 | |
| Non-stimulants | 15 (19) | 9 (14.3) | .46 | 7 (31.8) | 2 (4.9) | .006b | |
| Antidepressant | 9 (11.4) | 11 (17.5) | .30 | 6 (27.3) | 5 (12.2) | .17 | |
| Neuroleptics | 7 (8.9) | 5 (7.9) | .84 | 4 (18.2) | 1 (2.4) | .04b | |
| Mood stabilizers | 0 | 3 (4.8) | .09 | 3 (13.6) | 0 | .04b | |
| Benzodiazepines | 0 | 2 (3.2) | .19 | 2 (9.1) | 0 | .12 | |
Disruptive behavior group refers to children with disruptive behavior disorder without ASD
ASD/DB+, autism spectrum disorder with co-occurring disruptive behavior disorder; ASD/DB−, autism spectrum disorder without disruptive behavior disorder; ADI-R, autism diagnostic interview-revised; ADOS-2, autism diagnostic observation schedule-2nd edition; CBCL, child behavior checklist; RPQ, reactive–proactive aggression questionnaire; SRS-2, social responsiveness scale-second edition
Full-scale IQ measured by the Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence (Wechsler 1997) or the differential ability scales-II (Elliott 2007)
Significant group differences at p < 0.05, Bonferroni corrected, except for Chi square test for categorical variables and independent samples T test
ASD > healthy controls; disruptive behavior > healthy controls; disruptive behavior > ASD
ASD > healthy controls; ASD > disruptive behavior; disruptive behavior > healthy controls