The association of adverse life events and parental mental health with emotional and behavioral outcomes in young adults with autism spectrum disorder

Matthew J. Hollocks; Richard Meiser-Stedman; Rachel Kent; Steve Lukito; Jackie Briskman; Dominic Stringer; Catherine Lord; Andrew Pickles; Gillian Baird; Tony Charman; Emily Simonoff

doi:10.1002/aur.2548

The association of adverse life events and parental mental health with emotional and behavioral outcomes in young adults with autism spectrum disorder

Matthew J. Hollocks^*, Richard Meiser-Stedman, Rachel Kent, Steve Lukito, Jackie Briskman, Dominic Stringer, Catherine Lord, Andrew Pickles, Gillian Baird, Tony Charman, Emily Simonoff

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of developing co-occurring mental health difficulties across the lifespan. Exposure to adverse life events and parental mental health difficulties are known risk factors for developing a range of mental health difficulties. This study investigates the association of adverse life events, parental stress and mental health with emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD. One hundred and fifteen young adults with ASD derived from a population-based longitudinal study were assessed at three time-points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) on questionnaire measures of emotional and behavioral problems. Parent-reported exposure to adverse life events and parental stress/mental health were measured at age 23. We used structural equation modeling to investigate the stability of emotional and behavioral problems over time, and the association between adverse life events and parental stress and mental health and emotional and behavioral outcomes at 23-year. Our results indicate that exposure to adverse life events was significantly associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD, while controlling for symptoms in childhood and adolescence. Higher reported parental stress and mental health difficulties were associated with a higher frequency of behavioral, but not emotional problems, and did not mediate the impact of adverse life events. These results suggest that child and adolescent emotional and behavioral problems, exposure to life events and parent stress and mental health are independently associated, to differing degrees, with emotional or behavioral outcomes in early adulthood. Lay Summary: People with autism experience high rates of mental health difficulties throughout childhood and into adult life. Adverse life events and parental stress and mental health may contribute to poor mental health in adulthood. We used data at three time points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) to understand how these factors relate to symptoms at 23-year. We found that emotional and behavioral problems in childhood, adverse life events and parent mental health were all associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in adulthood.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1724-1735
Number of pages	12
Journal	Autism research
Volume	14
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2548
Publication status	Published - Aug 2021

Keywords

anxiety
co-morbid conditions
depression
environmental risk factors
stress

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1002/aur.2548

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Hollocks, M. J., Meiser-Stedman, R., Kent, R., Lukito, S., Briskman, J., Stringer, D., Lord, C., Pickles, A., Baird, G., Charman, T., & Simonoff, E. (2021). The association of adverse life events and parental mental health with emotional and behavioral outcomes in young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Autism research, 14(8), 1724-1735. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2548

@article{9ca5d670a49346f6893545944b92aada,

title = "The association of adverse life events and parental mental health with emotional and behavioral outcomes in young adults with autism spectrum disorder",

abstract = "People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of developing co-occurring mental health difficulties across the lifespan. Exposure to adverse life events and parental mental health difficulties are known risk factors for developing a range of mental health difficulties. This study investigates the association of adverse life events, parental stress and mental health with emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD. One hundred and fifteen young adults with ASD derived from a population-based longitudinal study were assessed at three time-points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) on questionnaire measures of emotional and behavioral problems. Parent-reported exposure to adverse life events and parental stress/mental health were measured at age 23. We used structural equation modeling to investigate the stability of emotional and behavioral problems over time, and the association between adverse life events and parental stress and mental health and emotional and behavioral outcomes at 23-year. Our results indicate that exposure to adverse life events was significantly associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD, while controlling for symptoms in childhood and adolescence. Higher reported parental stress and mental health difficulties were associated with a higher frequency of behavioral, but not emotional problems, and did not mediate the impact of adverse life events. These results suggest that child and adolescent emotional and behavioral problems, exposure to life events and parent stress and mental health are independently associated, to differing degrees, with emotional or behavioral outcomes in early adulthood. Lay Summary: People with autism experience high rates of mental health difficulties throughout childhood and into adult life. Adverse life events and parental stress and mental health may contribute to poor mental health in adulthood. We used data at three time points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) to understand how these factors relate to symptoms at 23-year. We found that emotional and behavioral problems in childhood, adverse life events and parent mental health were all associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in adulthood.",

keywords = "anxiety, co-morbid conditions, depression, environmental risk factors, stress",

author = "Hollocks, {Matthew J.} and Richard Meiser-Stedman and Rachel Kent and Steve Lukito and Jackie Briskman and Dominic Stringer and Catherine Lord and Andrew Pickles and Gillian Baird and Tony Charman and Emily Simonoff",

note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The most recent wave of data collection was supported by a project grant from Autism Speaks #7729. Wave 1 data collection was funded by the Wellcome Trust and UK Department of Health. Wave 2 data collection was supported by a grant from the UK Medical Research Council (G0400065). Statistical analysis the Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the UK NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The most recent wave of data collection was supported by a project grant from Autism Speaks #7729. Wave 1 data collection was funded by the Wellcome Trust and UK Department of Health. Wave 2 data collection was supported by a grant from the UK Medical Research Council (G0400065). Statistical analysis the Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the UK NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Funding Information: Prof. Simonoff currently receives support from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), through a program grant (RP‐PG‐1211‐20,016), the European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative (EU‐IMI 115300), Autistica (7237), the Medical Research Council (MR/R000832/1, MR/P019293/1), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC 003041/1) and Guy's and St Thomas' Charitable Foundation (GSTT EF1150502) and the Maudsley Charity. Simonoff and Pickles hold NIHR Senior Investigator Awards (NF‐SI‐0514‐10,073 and NF‐SI‐0617‐10,120). Prof. Lord receives royalties from Western Psychological Services for the ADOS and is supported by NICHD R01‐HD081199 and the Simons Foundation. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1002/aur.2548",

language = "English",

volume = "14",

pages = "1724--1735",

journal = "Autism research",

issn = "1939-3792",

publisher = "John Wiley & Sons, Ltd",

number = "8",

}

Hollocks, MJ, Meiser-Stedman, R, Kent, R , Lukito, S , Briskman, J , Stringer, D, Lord, C, Pickles, A , Baird, G , Charman, T & Simonoff, E 2021, 'The association of adverse life events and parental mental health with emotional and behavioral outcomes in young adults with autism spectrum disorder', Autism research, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 1724-1735. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2548

TY - JOUR

T1 - The association of adverse life events and parental mental health with emotional and behavioral outcomes in young adults with autism spectrum disorder

AU - Hollocks, Matthew J.

AU - Meiser-Stedman, Richard

AU - Kent, Rachel

AU - Lukito, Steve

AU - Briskman, Jackie

AU - Stringer, Dominic

AU - Lord, Catherine

AU - Pickles, Andrew

AU - Baird, Gillian

AU - Charman, Tony

AU - Simonoff, Emily

N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The most recent wave of data collection was supported by a project grant from Autism Speaks #7729. Wave 1 data collection was funded by the Wellcome Trust and UK Department of Health. Wave 2 data collection was supported by a grant from the UK Medical Research Council (G0400065). Statistical analysis the Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the UK NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The most recent wave of data collection was supported by a project grant from Autism Speaks #7729. Wave 1 data collection was funded by the Wellcome Trust and UK Department of Health. Wave 2 data collection was supported by a grant from the UK Medical Research Council (G0400065). Statistical analysis the Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the UK NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Funding Information: Prof. Simonoff currently receives support from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), through a program grant (RP‐PG‐1211‐20,016), the European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative (EU‐IMI 115300), Autistica (7237), the Medical Research Council (MR/R000832/1, MR/P019293/1), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC 003041/1) and Guy's and St Thomas' Charitable Foundation (GSTT EF1150502) and the Maudsley Charity. Simonoff and Pickles hold NIHR Senior Investigator Awards (NF‐SI‐0514‐10,073 and NF‐SI‐0617‐10,120). Prof. Lord receives royalties from Western Psychological Services for the ADOS and is supported by NICHD R01‐HD081199 and the Simons Foundation. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of developing co-occurring mental health difficulties across the lifespan. Exposure to adverse life events and parental mental health difficulties are known risk factors for developing a range of mental health difficulties. This study investigates the association of adverse life events, parental stress and mental health with emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD. One hundred and fifteen young adults with ASD derived from a population-based longitudinal study were assessed at three time-points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) on questionnaire measures of emotional and behavioral problems. Parent-reported exposure to adverse life events and parental stress/mental health were measured at age 23. We used structural equation modeling to investigate the stability of emotional and behavioral problems over time, and the association between adverse life events and parental stress and mental health and emotional and behavioral outcomes at 23-year. Our results indicate that exposure to adverse life events was significantly associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD, while controlling for symptoms in childhood and adolescence. Higher reported parental stress and mental health difficulties were associated with a higher frequency of behavioral, but not emotional problems, and did not mediate the impact of adverse life events. These results suggest that child and adolescent emotional and behavioral problems, exposure to life events and parent stress and mental health are independently associated, to differing degrees, with emotional or behavioral outcomes in early adulthood. Lay Summary: People with autism experience high rates of mental health difficulties throughout childhood and into adult life. Adverse life events and parental stress and mental health may contribute to poor mental health in adulthood. We used data at three time points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) to understand how these factors relate to symptoms at 23-year. We found that emotional and behavioral problems in childhood, adverse life events and parent mental health were all associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in adulthood.

AB - People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of developing co-occurring mental health difficulties across the lifespan. Exposure to adverse life events and parental mental health difficulties are known risk factors for developing a range of mental health difficulties. This study investigates the association of adverse life events, parental stress and mental health with emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD. One hundred and fifteen young adults with ASD derived from a population-based longitudinal study were assessed at three time-points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) on questionnaire measures of emotional and behavioral problems. Parent-reported exposure to adverse life events and parental stress/mental health were measured at age 23. We used structural equation modeling to investigate the stability of emotional and behavioral problems over time, and the association between adverse life events and parental stress and mental health and emotional and behavioral outcomes at 23-year. Our results indicate that exposure to adverse life events was significantly associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD, while controlling for symptoms in childhood and adolescence. Higher reported parental stress and mental health difficulties were associated with a higher frequency of behavioral, but not emotional problems, and did not mediate the impact of adverse life events. These results suggest that child and adolescent emotional and behavioral problems, exposure to life events and parent stress and mental health are independently associated, to differing degrees, with emotional or behavioral outcomes in early adulthood. Lay Summary: People with autism experience high rates of mental health difficulties throughout childhood and into adult life. Adverse life events and parental stress and mental health may contribute to poor mental health in adulthood. We used data at three time points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) to understand how these factors relate to symptoms at 23-year. We found that emotional and behavioral problems in childhood, adverse life events and parent mental health were all associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in adulthood.

KW - anxiety

KW - co-morbid conditions

KW - depression

KW - environmental risk factors

KW - stress

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U2 - 10.1002/aur.2548

DO - 10.1002/aur.2548

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85107386593

SN - 1939-3792

VL - 14

SP - 1724

EP - 1735

JO - Autism research

JF - Autism research

IS - 8

ER -

The association of adverse life events and parental mental health with emotional and behavioral outcomes in young adults with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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