The Open Psychiatry Journal

2008, 2 : 5-11
Published online 2008 July 24. DOI: 10.2174/1874354400802010005
Publisher ID: TOPJ-2-5

Child Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Problems are Intercorrelated and Dimensionally Distributed in the General Population

Henrik Anckarsäter , Tomas Larson , Sara Lina Hansson , Eva Carlström , Ola Ståhlberg , Carina Gillberg , Maria Råstam , Christopher Gillberg and Paul Lichtenstein
Forensic Psychiatry, Lillhagsparken 3, 422 50 Hisings Backa, Sweden.

ABSTRACT

The Autism – Tics, AD/HD, and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) is a comprehensive interview for evaluating problems related to autism spectrum disorders (ASD), tic disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and common comorbid conditions in children and adolescents. A-TAC telephone interviews were administered to parents of 2,957 children aged nine- or twelve-years, representing one in each twin pair included in the populationbased Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS).

A total of 16.4% were screen-positive for one or several of the targeted disorder, 1.3% for ASD and 5.6% for AD/HD. All types of problems were more common among boys, with the exception of those related to “eating habits”. They were all dimensionally/continuously distributed, highly inter-correlated, and overlapped across types. They aggregated in three basic factors corresponding to externalizing/disruptiveness, socio-communicative problems, and compulsiveness.

Population-based data on problems in children thus challenge current categorical diagnostic definitions, calling for dimensional and complementary models of problem descriptions.

Keywords:

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum, tics.