Longitudinal relations between autistic-like features and functional somatic symptoms in adolescence

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Autistic-like features and functional somatic symptoms (FSS) frequently co-occur in adolescents.
• The developmental interplay between autistic-like features and FSS during adolescence is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the reciprocal longitudinal relationships between autistic-like features and FSS in a large adolescent cohort.
• To examine how these co-occurring conditions influence each other over time during adolescence.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 2772 adolescents (ages 11-19) across four waves.
• Autistic-like features assessed using the Children’s Social Behavior Questionnaire.
• Functional somatic symptoms (FSS) measured via Youth Self Report and Adult Self Report instruments.
• Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling employed to analyze within- and between-person associations.

Main Results:

• A stable, positive, and moderately strong association was observed between autistic-like features and FSS at the between-person level throughout adolescence.
• No significant within-person reciprocal effects were detected from one wave to the next.
• Secondary analyses confirmed consistent associations across social/communication, repetitive, and self-regulatory domains of autistic-like features, including in a clinical autism spectrum disorder subgroup.

Conclusions:

• The co-occurrence of autistic-like features and FSS is a stable phenomenon during adolescence.
• Clinical awareness is crucial for identifying FSS in adolescents with autistic-like features, and vice versa, to facilitate integrated assessment and care.