Relationships between maternal adverse childhood experiences and autistic behaviors in preschool children / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To explore the prevalence of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the association with autistic behavior of preschool children, to provide a basis for the effective prevention of autism occurrence in preschool children.@*Methods@#Through stratified cluster sampling, 3 655 preschool children in Hefei City were selected and surveyed regarding general information. Maternal ACEs and childhood autistic behaviors were assessed using the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire and the Clancy Autism Behaviour Scale, respectively. Multiple Logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlation between maternal ACEs and child autistic behaviors.@*Results@#The prevalence of autistic behavior was 6.10%, with significantly higher in boys (7.22%) than girls(4.86%)( χ 2=8.85, P <0.01). After adjustment for the confounding factors, the detection rate of autistic behaviors was higher in children of mother with ACEs than those of mother without( OR=2.77, 95%CI=1.92-3.99, P <0.05). Maternal ACEs were associated with an increased risk of autistic behaviors both in preschool boys and girls (boys OR=2.90, 95%CI =1.81-4.64; girls OR=2.56, 95%CI =1.43-4.61, all P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#Maternal ACEs are associated with increased risk of autistic behaviors among preschool children. More attention should be paid to the intergenerational effects of maternal ACEs to reduce risk of autism among preschool children.