The Association Between Autistic Traits and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Preliminary Findings Among Typically-Developing Adults in Israel

D. Horesh, N. Haruvi-Lamdan, S. Lebendiger, O. Golan

Research output: Contribution to journalMeeting Abstractpeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although studies show that those suffering from autism spectrum disorders (ASD) face an increased risk of exposure to trauma (bullying, physical abuse), the co-morbidity between autistic symptoms/traits and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was almost entirely neglected by researchers. The aim of this preliminary study is to explore the possible associations between these two conditions among typically-developing college students. METHODS Participants were 39 students, recruited from 2 Israeli universities. Twenty-four participants were psychology students, and 15 were business administration students. Participants completed self-report questionnaires tapping sociodemographic background, trauma exposure, PTSD (the PTSD Checklist-5, PCL-5), and autistic traits (the Autism Spectrum Quotient, AQ). RESULTS Our preliminary findings revealed a positive association between symptoms of PTSD and autistic traits. More specifically, among those in the 3rd and 4th highest quartiles of AQ scores, 87.5% met the cut-off score for a probable PTSD diagnosis (χ2 (3)=8.25, P
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)S137-S137
JournalEuropean Psychiatry
Volume41
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

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