Brief report: The impact of the broad autism phenotype on parent perception of autism symptoms in their children with and without autism spectrum disorder compared to teachers

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities Vol. 125; p. 104231
• Main Authors: Dovgan, Kristen, Nowell, Kerri P., Hecmanczuk, Theresa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2022
• Subjects: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder - complications; Autism symptoms; Autistic Disorder - complications; Broad Autism Phenotype; Humans; Informant agreement; Perception; Phenotype; Rater bias; Rater discordance; Rater perception; Siblings; Symptom presentation; Informant agreement; Symptom presentation; Broad Autism Phenotype; Rater discordance; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Rater perception; Rater bias; Autism symptoms
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104231

Evaluation of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes caregiver-reported rating scales of symptom presentation. The extent to which a broad autism phenotype (BAP) in parents of children with ASD might impact their endorsement of autism symptoms in their children with and without ASD has not been well evaluated.
This study analyzed whether varying degrees of parental BAP were associated with reported autism symptoms in offspring with and without ASD.
We used the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire as a measure of BAP in parents and parent- and teacher-report on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) to assess autism symptoms in children with ASD and their typically developing (TD) siblings (N = 5714). We assessed the relationship between parental BAP and parent-teacher discordance. We compared teacher reports of autism symptoms in children with varying degrees of BAP exposure.
Mothers with higher levels of BAP over-reported autism symptoms in their children (compared to teachers) than mothers with lower BAP. TD children from parents with greater BAP displayed more autism symptoms than children from households with less BAP.
BAP is associated with parent report of autism symptoms when compared to teacher report. For children with ASD, it is possible that differences in ratings reflect parent perception and not autism symptomatology; whereas, TD children from households with higher levels of BAP exposure showed more phenotypic autism symptom presentation on teacher-completed measures. Researchers and clinicians should consider BAP when interpreting caregiver and teacher reports.
•Broad Autism Phenotype is associated with parent report of autism symptoms.•Mothers with BAP overreport autism symptoms in their children.•Teachers report more autism symptoms in TD children from households with more BAP.