Higher depressive symptoms in early adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder by self- and parent-report compared to typically-developing peers.
Autistic early teens score in the Borderline depression range on both self- and parent-report, yet the two raters rarely agree—collect both forms every intake.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked 11- to 14-year-olds with autism and typical peers to fill out a short depression checklist. Parents filled out the same form about their child.
They compared the two sets of scores to see if autistic early teens looked more depressed than peers.
What they found
Autistic early adolescents landed in the Borderline range on both self and parent forms. Typical teens scored much lower.
Self-ratings and parent-ratings rarely matched, even within the same family.
How this fits with other research
Hurtig et al. (2009) saw the same pattern eleven years earlier: high-functioning autistic teens reported lots of anxiety and depression, while parents often missed it. Heald et al. (2020) now shows the gap still exists across a wider IQ range.
Ozsivadjian et al. (2014) proved autistic kids can reliably fill out these forms. The new study puts that finding to work by showing the scores are both valid and concerning.
Ridgway et al. (2024) followed youth past high school and found low wellbeing lingers into young adulthood. Together the papers trace a clear timeline: elevated internalizing starts early and stays.
Why it matters
If you only hand the parent questionnaire, you may miss a depressed teen sitting in front of you. Grab two pencils: give one to the client and one to the caregiver. Compare the totals, ask about any big gaps, and add a brief mood check to your skill-acquisition plan. Early catch means earlier coping lessons, smaller behavior bursts, and better long-term outcomes.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Depression is more prevalent among male early adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) than their typically- developing (TD) peers, but findings are limited to two male-only studies. Therefore, a broader understanding of depressive symptoms among both male and female early adolescents with ASD in larger samples is needed. Self- and parent-ratings are frequently used, yet rater differences may emerge and provide unique insights. METHOD: Ratings of adolescent depressive symptoms were examined among 230 early adolescents (10:0-13:5 years) with and without ASD using self- (Children's Depression Inventory, Second Edition; CDI-2) and parent- report (Child Behavior Checklist; CBCL) measures. The influence of diagnostic group (ASD vs. TD) and rater (early adolescent vs. parent) on ratings were examined with Full Scale IQ and sex as covariates. Additionally, the reliability and strength of agreement between raters were examined. RESULTS: Higher depressive symptoms were reported by both raters in the ASD group (Borderline range) compared to the TD group (Average range). The interaction of diagnostic group and rater was nonsignificant, but significant main effects emerged. Sex was a significant covariate, but Full Scale IQ was not. The reliability and strength of agreement between raters in the ASD group only were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that depressive symptoms may be higher in both male and female early adolescents with ASD across self- and parent- reports. However, measurement of depression in ASD may be complicated by nonsignificant reliability and strength of agreement between raters. Results have implications for screening and intervention for early adolescents with ASD.
Research in autism spectrum disorders, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101613