2 - (SYM 79) Social-ecological Correlates of Verbal and Physical Aggression in Autistic Youth

Aggressive behavior is highly prevalent among autistic youth and is a primary reason for referral to outpatient treatment, inpatient hospitalization, and residential treatment. Several studies have identified variables related to aggressive behaviors in autistic youth that pertain to individual youth characteristics, family and caregiver functioning, and relations with peers. However, the relative contributions of these variables to specific types of aggressive behaviors

Participants were 2,142 caregivers of an autistic youth (ranging from 6-17 years of age) who completed self-report and behavior rating inventories that assessed several individual (sleep quality, gastrointestinal symptoms, severity of autism symptoms), family (caregiver stress and coping, family functioning, caregiver relationship satisfaction, sibling relations), peer (emotional bonding, number of friends), school (academic functioning), and neighborhood (perceived community safety) variables. We performed two hierarchical linear regression analyses to determine the relative contributions of these variables to verbal and physical aggression. We also performed ANOVAs and correlational analyses to determine whether verbal and physical aggression were linked with youth sex assigned at birth or age. Variables were entered in five steps of the regression models corresponding with proximodistal levels of the social ecology: demographic variables, youth characteristics, family functioning, peer relations, and school and neighborhood variables. The final models explained 42.6% of the variance in verbal aggression and 25.9% of the variance in physical aggression. Significant predictors for verbal aggression were poor sleep quality, lower levels of social-communication deficits, higher levels of sibling criticism and caregiver stress, more emotional bonding with peers, and better performance in math. Significant predictors for physical aggression were higher levels of repetitive and restrictive behaviors, gastrointestinal symptoms, poor sleep quality, co-occurring cognitive impairment, higher levels of sibling conflict and caregiver stress, fewer friends, neighborhood dangerousness, and lower reading performance. Youth age and sex assigned at birth were not related to verbal or physical aggression.

Finding suggest that verbal and physical aggression in autistic youth is associated with multiple factors pertaining to the individual youth and their social environments. Implications for treatment and future research are discussed.