Examining the Relationship Between Restricted and Repetitive Behavior Type and Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors

Background:  Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are a core diagnostic feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and are often difficult to evaluate without a comprehensive tool (DSM-V; American Psychiatric Association, 2013).  The Behavior and Sensory Interest Questionnaire (BSIQ) is a newly published continuous dimensional instrument designed to meet these needs (Hanson et. al., in press). The BSIQ comprehensively evaluates type, frequency, and intensity, age of onset and duration of RRBs. The BSIQ also separates the two types of RRBs, Repetitive Sensorimotor (RSM) behaviors and Insistence on Sameness (IS) behaviors.  This present study looks to further understand RSM and IS behaviors in relation to internalizing (i.e., anxious, depressive, and over-controlled) and externalizing (i.e., aggressive, hyperactive, noncompliant, and under-controlled) behaviors using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (Farmer & Aman, 2011).

Objectives:  N/A

Methods:  185 ASD affected participants (149 male) with both BSIQ and CBCLs were examined.   Ages of participants ranged from (24-201 months) (mean=69.4, SD=40.2).  BSIQs were evaluated with CBCL internalizing and externalizing behavior scores.  Correlations between IS and RSM behaviors and internalizing and externalizing behaviors were examined using Pearson correlations in SPSS.  

Results:  Pearson correlations were run to compare CBCL Internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors to RSM and IS behaviors.  Preliminary analyses demonstrated that of individuals exhibiting IS behaviors, there was a larger positive correlation between Internalizing behaviors (r=0.522, p=0.000) than externalizing behaviors (r=0.358, p=0.000).  Similar to the IS results, those participants exhibiting RSM behaviors also found a larger positive correlation between Internalizing behaviors (r=0.462, p = 0.000) than externalizing behaviors (r=0.391, p =0.000).   

Conclusions:  As a result, both RSM and IS behaviors have a strong positive relationship to CBCL internalizing behaviors and moderate positive relationships to externalizing behaviors. Future research is needed to determine what specific internalizing behaviors may be more strongly correlated to RSM and IS behaviors.