Journal article
Factors associated with age at autism diagnosis in a community sample of Australian adults
Autism Research, Vol.14(12), pp.2677-2687
12/2021
PMID: 34529351
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Autism diagnosis in adulthood has become increasingly common due to a range of factors including changes in awareness, diagnostic criteria, and professional practices. Past research identified a range of demographic and autism-related factors associated with autism diagnosis age in children. However, it is unclear whether these apply to autistic adults. This study aimed to examine predictors of autism diagnosis age in adults while controlling for current age and autistic traits. We used a cross-sectional sample of 657 adults aged 15–80 from three self and carer-report studies: the Australian Longitudinal Study of Autism in Adulthood (ALSAA), Study of Australian School-Leavers with Autism (SASLA) and Pathways, Predictors and Impact of Receiving an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Adulthood (Pathways). Using hierarchical multiplicative heteroscedastic regression, we found that older current age and higher self-reported autistic traits predicted older diagnosis age, and that female gender, lack of intellectual disability, language other than English, family history of autism, lifetime depression, and no obsessive–compulsive disorder predicted older diagnosis age beyond current age and autistic traits. The paradoxical relationship between high autistic traits and older diagnosis age requires further investigation. Based on these findings, we recommended strategies to improve autism recognition in women and people from non-English-speaking backgrounds. Future studies could extend the findings by examining the effects of childhood and adulthood socioeconomic status on adult diagnosis age.
Details
- Title
- Factors associated with age at autism diagnosis in a community sample of Australian adults
- Creators
- Yunhe Huang - University of New South WalesSamuel R. C Arnold - University of New South WalesKitty-Rose Foley - University of New South WalesLauren P Lawson - The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe UniversityAmanda L Richdale - The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe UniversityJulian N Trollor - University of New South Wales
- Publication Details
- Autism Research, Vol.14(12), pp.2677-2687
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Grant note
- Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (Research Training Program) Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC). Grant Numbers: 3.013, 3.016
- Identifiers
- 991012968488802368
- Copyright
- © 2021 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
- Academic Unit
- School of Health and Human Sciences; Allied Health and Midwifery; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article