Association Between Autistic Traits in Preschool Children and Later Emotional/Behavioral Outcomes

Although children with a greater number of autistic traits are likely to have other mental health problems, research on the association between earlier autistic traits in preschool children and later emotional/behavioral outcomes is scarce. Using data from 189 Japanese community-based children, this study examined whether autistic traits at age 5 were related to emotional/behavioral outcomes at age 7. The results showed that prior autistic traits were subsequently associated with all emotional/behavioral domains. After controlling for baseline emotional/behavioral scores autistic traits continued to predict later emotional symptoms and peer problems. This study highlights that in addition to clinical ASD, it is also important to focus on subthreshold autistic traits in preschool children for better subsequent emotional/behavioral outcomes.