Social class and infantile autism

Gillberg, Christopher; Schaumann, Helen

doi:10.1007/bf01531368

Cited by 56 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A number of investigators and recent reviews of the epidemiology of autism have concluded that any association observed between autism risk and SES has been due to such bias [26], [27], [30], [31]. The present population-based study of U.S. surveillance data provides some support for this conclusion by showing a stronger SES gradient in prevalence among children with ASD with than without a pre-existing ASD diagnosis.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThis study was designed to evaluate the hypothesis that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children in the United States is positively associated with socioeconomic status (SES).MethodsA cross-sectional study was implemented with data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, a multiple source surveillance system that incorporates data from educational and health care sources to determine the number of 8-year-old children with ASD among defined populations. For the years 2002 and 2004, there were 3,680 children with ASD among a population of 557 689 8-year-old children. Area-level census SES indicators were used to compute ASD prevalence by SES tertiles of the population.ResultsPrevalence increased with increasing SES in a dose-response manner, with prevalence ratios relative to medium SES of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.64, 0.76) for low SES, and of 1.25 (95% CI 1.16, 1.35) for high SES, (P<0.001). Significant SES gradients were observed for children with and without a pre-existing ASD diagnosis, and in analyses stratified by gender, race/ethnicity, and surveillance data source. The SES gradient was significantly stronger in children with a pre-existing diagnosis than in those meeting criteria for ASD but with no previous record of an ASD diagnosis (p<0.001), and was not present in children with co-occurring ASD and intellectual disability.ConclusionsThe stronger SES gradient in ASD prevalence in children with versus without a pre-existing ASD diagnosis points to potential ascertainment or diagnostic bias and to the possibility of SES disparity in access to services for children with autism. Further research is needed to confirm and understand the sources of this disparity so that policy implications can be drawn. Consideration should also be given to the possibility that there may be causal mechanisms or confounding factors associated with both high SES and vulnerability to ASD.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although rigorous studies have found no association between higher socioeconomic status and ASDs, researchers have noted that families with greater economic resources are more likely to obtain treatment and other services for their children. [26][27][28][29][30] Families with fewer economic resources may interpret their children's behavior in a way that does not lead to medical intervention. For example, Bussing and colleagues found that families' willingness to apply a medical label to their children's attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms varied as a function of socioeconomic factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence for a dysfunction of the neuroimmune complex is mounting, but it requires more investigation into specific mechanisms. [20][21][22][23][24] The association between ASDs and parenting practices 25 has been completely discredited, and the association with socioeconomic status [26][27][28][29][30] is largely viewed as spurious.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

School District Resources and Identification of Children With Autistic Disorder

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Social class was determined on the basis of a modified version of the Graffar classification system presented in detail by Gillberg and Schaumann (1982).…”

Section: Psychosocial Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Twin Study of Autism in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden

Steffenburg

Gillberg

Hellgren

et al. 1989

Child Psychology Psychiatry

Self Cite

704

200

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Nordic countries were screened for the occurrence of cases of autism with a same-sexed twin under age 25 years. Twenty-one pairs (11 monozygotic and 10 dizygotic) of twins and one set of identical triplets were found and extensively examined. The concordance for autism by pair was 91% in the monoygotic and 0% in the dizygotic pairs. The corresponding concordances for cognitive disorder were 91% and 30%, respectively. In most of the pairs discordant for autism, the autistic twin had more perinatal stress. The results lend support for the notion that autism sometimes has a hereditary component and that perinatal stress is involved in some cases.

show abstract

Social class and infantile autism

Cited by 56 publications

References 7 publications

Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study

Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study

School District Resources and Identification of Children With Autistic Disorder

A Twin Study of Autism in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About