title: Factor analysis of repetitive behaviors in Autism as measured by the Y-BOCS.
abstract: The authors carried out a factor analysis of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale checklist at the category level in order to reduce the number of variables in this domain and ultimately identify possible endophenotypes; 181 children with autism were enrolled. The authors estimated a tetrachoric correlation matrix among the dichotomous symptom categories and then used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify a clinically meaningful factor structure for this correlation matrix. Their analysis supported a four-factor solution: obsessions, higher-order repetitive behaviors, lower-order repetitive behaviors, and hoarding. These findings are another step in the effort to identify genetically and biologically distinct groups within this population.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. Eanagnostou@hollandbloorview.ca
authors.forename: Evdokia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anagnostou
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chaplin
authors.forename: Dryden
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watner
authors.forename: Jeremy M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zagursky
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Kryzak
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Corwin
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Feirsen
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanel
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hollander
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires