International Meeting for Autism Research (London, May 15-17, 2008): Examining the Structure of the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Saturday, May 17, 2008: 5:00 PM

Mancy (Novotel London West)

S. Georgiades , Offord Centre for Child Studies & McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

E. Duku , Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

I. M. Smith , Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

P. Mirenda , University of British Columbia

P. Szatmari , Offord Centre for Child Studies & McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

S. E. Bryson , Pediatrics and Psychology, Dalhousie University/IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada

E. Fombonne , Montreal Children's Hospital & McGill University

W. Roberts , The Hospital for Sick Children & University of Toronto

T. Vaillancourt , Offord Centre for Child Studies & McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

J. Volden , University of Alberta

C. Waddell , Simon Fraser University

L. Zwaigenbaum , Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital & University of Alberta

P. I. ASD Study Team

Background: The Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R; Bodfish et al., 2000) was designed to examine restricted/repetitive behaviors in ASD. A recent factor analytic study by Lam and Aman (2007), using a sample of older children and adults (mean CA=184 months), revealed five factors. Objectives: To examine the factor structure and correlates of the RBS-R in preschool children with ASD. Methods: The RBS-R was completed by parents of newly-diagnosed children with ASD, participating in a Canadian longitudinal study (Pathways in ASD). Our sample consisted of 225 children (193 males; mean CA=39.80 months; mean MA=26.00 months; 69.8% Caucasian). Principal axis factor analysis was used to examine the structure of the RBS-R. Pearson correlations were calculated to examine relationships between derived factors and other ASD symptoms, as well as cognitive and adaptive function. Results: A three-factor solution explaining 40.2% of the variance was selected, using scree plot and goodness-of-fit criteria. The three factors were: Compulsive Ritualistic Sameness Behaviour (CRSB), Self Injurious Behaviour (SIB), and Stereotyped Restricted Behaviour (SRB). Children with higher CRSB scores were significantly older (r=.22), showed more severe autism symptoms (SRS and ADI-R, r=.15 to .58), and had poorer adaptive behavior (Vineland II, r=-.29). High scores on SIB were associated with higher SRS scores (r=.21). Children with high scores on SRB were younger (r=-.15), had more severe autism (ADI-R, ADOS & SRS, r=.11 to .23), and were more impaired on both cognitive (M-P-R) and adaptive (Vineland II) skills (r=-.17 to -.33). Males scored higher on the SRB factor (p<.01). Conclusions: The structure of the RBS-R is best captured using fewer, more inclusive factors in a population of preschool children, compared with a previous factor analysis in an older sample. This ongoing longitudinal study may reveal useful information on increasing differentiation of repetitive behaviours, as well as potential factors associated with their development.

See more of: Repetitive Behaviour
See more of: Oral Presentations
See more of: Oral Presentations