Temperament predicts challenging behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder at age 5

• Published in: Research in autism spectrum disorders 2020-03, Vol.71, p.101492, Article 101492
• Main Authors: Korbut, Siobhan, Hedley, Darren, Chetcuti, Lacey, Sahin, Ensu, Nuske, Heather J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ASD; Autism; Challenging behavior; Developmental delay; Temperament
• ISSN: 1750-9467; 1878-0237
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2019.101492

•Temperament, development and ASD symptom severity were examined as predictors of challenging behavior.•Negative affectivity predicted frequency of challenging behavior at follow-up.•No individual variables uniquely predicted severity of challenging behavior at follow-up.•Emotion regulation-related aspects of temperament may predict later challenging behavior in ASD. Challenging behaviors during early childhood have a significant impact on cognitive and social development. The present study aimed to identify the developmental predictors of these behaviors in preschool aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at 2-year follow-up. We examined temperament, which has been identified as key to emotion regulation in typical development, as well as developmental level and ASD symptom severity, as potential predictors of parent-reported challenging behavior. Forty-three parents of preschool aged children with ASD from a previous study were invited to participate. Data from 26 children with ASD aged 4–6 years (M = 5, SD = .60) were available for follow-up analyses. Developmental level, ASD symptom severity, and temperamental difficulty at baseline were considered as potential predictors of frequency and severity of challenging behavior at follow-up. Baseline negative affectivity was uniquely predictive of frequency of challenging behavior at follow-up. Although no individual variable was identified as a unique predictor of variance, the combined effects of temperament were predictive of the severity of challenging behavior at follow-up, contributing to 46 % of variance in scores. These findings highlight the potential impact of emotion-regulation related aspects of temperament on later emerging challenging behavior in young children with ASD, suggesting opportunities for early intervention. Results also identified a role for developmental level in the severity of challenging behavior, but suggest that the effect may be metered by temperament.