ReviewHarvard review of psychiatry
Treatment of Aggression in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review.
Review in Harvard review of psychiatry. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Atypical antipsychotics for autism spectrum disorder: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Psychedelics and Autism Therapy: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Repeated Stress Escalates Aggression and Activity in Fronto-Limbic Regions in Cntnap2Genes, brain, and behavior · 2026Article
- Structure-Guided Discovery of Benzoic-Acid-Based TRPC6 Ligands: An Integrated Docking, MD, and MM-GBSA SAR Study: Potential Therapeutic Molecules for Autism Spectrum Disorder.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Validity of nursing interventions for aggressive behavior in neurodevelopmental disorders in child and adolescent psychiatry: A modified e-Delphi study.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- Using Case-Based Teaching: Does Our Dysregulated Hospitalized Patient Have Borderline Personality or Autism Spectrum Disorder?Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Psychotropic Medication Use and Psychotropic Polypharmacy in Autistic Adults With or Without Intellectual Disability.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Clozapine for Treatment-Resistant Disruptive Behaviors in Youths With Autism Spectrum Disorder Aged 10-17 Years: Protocol for an Open-Label Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Pharmacological treatment in autism: a proposal for guidelines on common co-occurring psychiatric symptoms.BMC medicine · 2025Review
- Sedation rates of patients with autism spectrum disorder in the emergency department: a case-matched cohort study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Managing Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Approaches.Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2024Review
- Identification of hippocampal area CA2 in hamster and vole brain.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2024Article
- Identification of hippocampal area CA2 in hamster and vole brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Changes in Challenging Behaviors Accompanying Transition to a New Facility in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- National screening for Egyptian children aged 1 year up to 12 years at high risk of Autism and its determinants: a step for determining what ASD surveillance needs.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Self-management interventions for reducing challenging behaviors among school-age students: A systematic review.Campbell systematic reviews · 2022Review
- Symptomatic, Genetic, and Mechanistic Overlaps between Autism and Alzheimer's Disease.Biomolecules · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by markedly impaired social interaction, impaired communication, and restricted/repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. In addition to challenges caused by core symptoms, maladaptive behaviors such as aggression can be associated with ASD and can further disrupt functioning and quality of life. For adults with ASD, these behaviors can portend adverse outcomes (e.g., harm to others or to the individual with ASD, hindering of employment opportunities, criminal justice system involvement). This article reviews the scientific literature to provide an update on evidence-based interventions for aggression in adults with ASD.
methodA search of the electronic databases CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO was conducted using relevant search terms. After reviewing titles, abstracts, full-length articles, and reference lists, 70 articles were identified and reviewed.
resultsThe strongest (controlled trial) evidence suggests beneficial effects of risperidone, propranolol, fluvoxamine, vigorous aerobic exercise, and dextromethorphan/quinidine for treating aggression in adults with ASD, with lower levels of evidence supporting behavioral interventions, multisensory environments, yokukansan, and other treatments.
conclusionsAdditional randomized, controlled trials using consistent methodology that adequately addresses sources of bias are needed to determine which treatments are reliably effective in addressing aggression in adults with ASD. In the meantime, considering efficacy and adverse effect/long-term risk profiles, a practical approach could start with functional assessment-informed behavioral interventions along with encouragement of regular, vigorous aerobic exercise to target aggression in adults with ASD, with pharmacotherapy employed if these interventions are unavailable or inadequate based on symptom acuity.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.