title: Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms and Comorbidity in Emerging Adults.
abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to grow in prevalence each passing year. As more children are diagnosed, it makes sense that the emerging adult and adult population with ASD also will continue to grow. Although the body of research is quite large for children with ASD, the literature for emerging adults with ASD is sparse in comparison. The current study aimed to extend existing literature further by beginning to explore the realm of emerging adulthood. Specifically, the study investigated the presence of comorbid psychiatric symptoms in emerging adults who also presented with ASD symptoms as measured by the Adult Self-Report (Rescorla and Achenbach in The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) for ages 18 to 90 years. The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcomes assessment: volume 3: instruments for adults, 3rd edn. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, pp 115-152, 2004). Emerging adults were categorized as having normal, mild, moderate, or severe levels of ASD symptoms and were compared for the presence of comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Overall, results suggested that emerging adults who presented with greater ASD symptom severity were more likely to experience the presence of additional comorbid symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Mississippi State University, 508 Allen Hall, P.O. Box 9727, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA. dgadke@colled.msstate.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Gadke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 6161, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA. cmckinney@psychology.msstate.edu.
authors.forename: Cliff
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McKinney
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 6161, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA. aoliveros@psychology.msstate.edu.
authors.forename: Arazais
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oliveros
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autism; Comorbidity; Emerging adulthood; Psychiatric disorders