Table II.
Differences among children with ASD in the SEED who did and did not use psychotropic medication
| ASD with psychotropic medication use (n = 62) | ASD without psychotropic medicatiuse (n = 701) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | No. (%) | No. (%) | χ2 (P value) | Cramer V |
| ADI-R self-injurious behavior | 5.72 (.02) | 0.09 | ||
| No | 21 (33.9) | 348 (49.7) | ||
| Yes | 41 (66.1) | 352 (50.3) | ||
| CBCL aggressive behavior | 8.72 (<.01) | 0.11 | ||
| No | 37 (59.7) | 536 (76.6) | ||
| Yes | 25 (40.3) | 164 (23.4) | ||
| CBCL anxious/depressed | 1.17 | 0.28 | ||
| No | 55 (88.7) | 584 (83.4) | ||
| Yes | 7 (11.3) | 116 (16.6) | ||
| CBCL attention problems | 38.5 (<.01) | 0.23 | ||
| No | 8 (12.9) | 378 (54.0) | ||
| Yes | 54 (87.1) | 322 (46.0) | ||
| CBCL emotional reactivity | 1.23 (.27) | 0.04 | ||
| No | 32 (51.6) | 412 (58.9) | ||
| Yes | 30 (48.4) | 288 (41.1) | ||
| CBCL sleep problems | 3.79 (.05) | 0.10 | ||
| No | 43 (69.4) | 559 (79.9) | ||
| Yes | 19 (30.6) | 141 (20.1) | ||
| Child sex | 0.27 (.73) | 0.02 | ||
| Male | 52 (83.9) | 569 (81.2) | ||
| Female | 10 (16.1) | 132 (18.8) | ||
| MSEL low developmental level | ||||
| No | 13 (21.7) | 259 (37.3) | 5.87 (.02) | 0.10 |
| Yes | 47 (78.3) | 435 (62.7) | ||
| SRS moderate to severe restricted interests and repetitive behaviors | ||||
| No | 11 (18.0) | 225 (32.4) | 5.40 (.02) | 0.10 |
| Yes | 50 (82.0) | 469 (67.6) | ||
| SRS moderate to severe total ASD symptoms | ||||
| No | 8 (13.1) | 189 (27.2) | 5.80 (.02) | 0.10 |
| Yes | 53 (86.9) | 505 (72.8) | ||
| Study site | 17.0 (<.01) | 0.15 | ||
| CA | 8 (12.9) | 115 (16.4) | ||
| CO | 3 (4.8) | 126 (18.0) | ||
| GA | 21 (33.9) | 125 (17.8) | ||
| MD | 14 (22.6) | 131 (18.7) | ||
| NC | 12 (19.3) | 110 (15.7) | ||
| PA | 4 (6.5) | 94 (13.4) |
CBCL, Child Behavior Checklist 1½–5.
Bold indicates statistical significance at P ≤ .05. A Cramer V estimate of ≥0.20 is needed to assume a meaningful effect of medication use.
ADI-R, n = 700 for children without medication use; CBCL, n = 700 for children without medication use; MSEL, n = 60 for children with medication use and 694 for children without medication use; SRS, n = 61 for children with medication use and 694 for children without medication use.