Research has shown lower rates of employment and independent living in adults with autism. Many of these findings are based on cross-sectional studies, predominantly involving male participants. In a 6-year longitudinal study, we examined determinants of psychosocial outcomes in 917 adults with autism spectrum disorder (425 men, 492 women, mean…

Prior research suggests that autistic adults are at increased risk for developing the core motor components of Parkinson's disease (i.e. parkinsonism) although knowledge is limited to date. Therefore, we explore: (1) the prevalence of both continuous self-reported motor features typical of parkinsonism and the screen positivity rate for…

Autism spectrum disorder and anxiety are highly comorbid conditions. Understanding the underlying traits of anxiety in autism spectrum disorder is crucial to prevent and treat it efficiently. Hence, this study determined whether social communication difficulties or restricted repetitive behaviors are stronger risk factors for anxiety symptoms in…

Introduction: This systematic literature review aims to (a) identify how the parenting stress was used in the empirical studies as an independent, outcome, moderator and mediator variable, (b) identify the predictors of parenting stress in parents of children with ASD, (c) identify how parenting stress relates with mental health, and (d) make…

Autistic individuals may be at risk of premature mortality, and physical health comorbidity increases this risk; however, most studies fail to include older autistic adults or consider lifestyle-related factors that affect health. We developed an anonymous, online physical health survey. The final sample included n = 2368 individuals (mean age =…

This study compared sexual orientation and romantic relationship experience in a large sample of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n = 675) and general population peers (n = 8064). Gender identity was explored in the ASD group in relation to assigned gender at birth. Compared to general population peers, more people with…

Given the heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder, an important limitation of much autism spectrum disorder research is that outcome measures are statistically modeled as separate dependent variables. Often, their multivariate structure is either ignored or treated as a nuisance. This study aims to lift this limitation by applying network…

The field of early autism research is in dire need of outcome measures that adequately reflect subtle changes in core autistic behaviors. This article compares the ability of a newly developed measure, the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC), and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to detect changes in core…

Autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder overlap in several ways, raising questions about the nature of this comorbidity. Rommelse et al. published an innovative review of candidate endophenotypes for autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in cognitive and brain domains. They found that…

To determine maternal stress and child variables predicting maternal stress, 104 mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) completed the Dutch version of the Parental Stress Index (PSI; De Brock, Vermulst, Gerris, & Abidin, 1992) every six months over a period of two years. The level of maternal…

Birth data for 1,031 Dutch patients with autism were compared to those of the national population. Separate analyses were performed on diagnostic subgroups (i.e., infantile autism vs. other psychoses with origin specific to childhood), gender, and intelligence. No evidence was found that autism is characterized by a deviant birth pattern.…