RESEARCH ARTICLE
Aging and autism spectrum disorder: Evidence from the broad autism phenotype
Gregory L. Wallace,
Jessica Budgett,
Rebecca A. Charlton,
Gregory L. Wallace
Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Search for more papers by this authorJessica Budgett
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Rebecca A. Charlton
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK
Address for correspondence and reprints: Rebecca A. Charlton, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorGregory L. Wallace,
Jessica Budgett,
Rebecca A. Charlton,
Gregory L. Wallace
Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Search for more papers by this authorJessica Budgett
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Rebecca A. Charlton
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK
Address for correspondence and reprints: Rebecca A. Charlton, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
This study investigated for the first time the broad autism phenotype (BAP) in the context of older adulthood and its associations with real-world executive function, social support, and both depression and anxiety symptomatology. Based on self-ratings of autistic traits, 66 older adults (60+ years old, range = 61–88) were split into BAP (n = 20) and control (n = 46) groups. Individuals in the BAP group, even after controlling for age, education level, sex, and health problems, exhibited more real-world executive function problems in multiple domains, reported lower levels of social support, and self-rated increased depression and anxiety symptomatology compared to the control group. Regression analysis revealed that level of social support was the strongest predictor of BAP traits across both groups, although real-world executive function problems and depression symptomatology were also significant predictors. Moreover, when predicting anxiety and depression symptomatology, BAP traits were the strongest predictors above and beyond the effects of demographic factors, real-world executive function problems, and social support levels. These findings suggest that the BAP in older adulthood imparts additional risks to areas of functioning that are known to be crucial to aging-related outcomes in the context of typical development. These results might in turn inform aging in autism spectrum disorder, which has been largely unexplored to date. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1294–1303. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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