Autism Spectrum Disorders traits in a sample of young adults referring to a generalized mental health outpatient clinic

TL;DR

This study finds a high prevalence of autism traits in young adults visiting a mental health clinic, suggesting the need for better screening.

Contribution

The study provides new prevalence data on autism traits in a clinical mental health sample of young adults.

Findings

16.2% of the sample scored above the cut-off for autism traits on both the AQ and RAADS-R.

Prevalence of autism traits was higher in the clinical sample compared to the general population.

The study suggests implementing autism screening in young adults with unspecified psychiatric symptoms.

Abstract

The diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders is currently witnessing several changes, with direct consequences on the prevalence rates in the general population. However, little is known about ASD traits prevalence in clinical samples, and how much these traits interact with other mental health conditions, especially in young adults, a critical age for the outbreak of many psychiatric diseases.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ASD traits in a sample of young adults (aged between 18 and 24 years old) referring to a specialized mental health outpatient clinic.

We administered to 259 patients the Autism Quotient (AQ) and the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS‐R), along with a detailed sociodemographic and anamnestic interview.

We found that 16.2% of our sample scored above the cut-off at both scales (a percentage that went down to 13.13% when restricting the RAADS-R cut-off at >119, as suggested for clinical samples).

This prevalence seems considerably higher than the one reported in the general population, and not negligible. The association with sociodemographic features such as sex assigned at birth, gender identity and employment status, and the validity of the screening tools we implemented, are discussed. In conclusion, we suggest that an assessment for autistic traits should be implemented in young adults seeking help for unspecified psychiatric symptoms and psychological suffering and that, despite the not unanimous consensus over self-report screening tools, a positivity to both the AQ and the RAADS-R should lead the clinician to conduct a full diagnostic evaluation with structured or semi-structured interviews.

None Declared