ArticleJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2022
Middle-childhood executive functioning mediates associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and adolescent mental health, academic and functional outcomes in autistic children.
Article in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Executive function challenges persist into young adulthood and predict mental health outcomes in autism.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Executive Functioning as a Pathway Between Social Skills and Psychopathology: The Moderating Role of Autism Diagnosis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Article
- Correspondence Between the Brief Observation of Symptoms of Autism (BOSA) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2) in Adolescents and Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Assessing the Relationship Between Teacher Inclusive Beliefs, Behaviors, and Competences of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between autistic children's anxiety and social communication differences: The moderating role of executive function behaviours.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025Article
- Early executive functioning predicts externalizing problems in neurodiverse preschoolers.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2024Article
- Improving academic performance through a school-based intervention targeting academic executive functions - a pilot study.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2024Article
- Functional difficulties in children and youth with autism spectrum disorder: analysis of the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2024Article
- The relationship between executive function and the association of motor coordination difficulties and social communication deficits in autistic children.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Relations between Video Game Engagement and Social Development in Children: The Mediating Role of Executive Function and Age-Related Moderation.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Mental health challenges faced by autistic people.Nature human behaviour · 2023Review
- Executive Functions and Public Health: A Narrative Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2023Review
- Sensory profiles, behavioral problems, and auditory findings in children with autism spectrum disorder.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2023Article
- Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Family and School Environment.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 9 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExecutive functioning (EF) varies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is associated with clinical symptoms, academic, and adaptive functioning. Here, we examined whether middle-childhood EF mediates associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and adolescent outcomes in children with ASD.
methodsThe Pathways in ASD Cohort comprising children recruited at the time of ASD diagnosis (at 2-4 years-of-age) and followed prospectively across eight subsequent timepoints over ~10 years was used. A subset of Pathways participants (n = 250) with Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)-Parent Form data from at least one timepoint when participants were school-aged was analyzed. A mediation framework was used to examine whether BRIEF-measured EF across age 7-10 years (middle-childhood) mediated associations between early-childhood autism symptoms (measured using the parent-report Social Responsiveness Scale across age 2-6 years) and clinical, academic, and functional outcomes, indexed at age >10-11.8 years (early-adolescence) using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)-Internalizing and Externalizing Scales, Academic Performance from the Teacher's Report Form, and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Models were rerun substituting clinician-rated and teacher-rated measures, where possible.
resultsMediation models indicated a significant indirect effect of middle-childhood EF on associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and externalizing behavior, academic performance, or adaptive functioning in early adolescence; kappa squared (κ
conclusionsAmong children with an ASD diagnosis, middle-childhood EF may be one pathway through which early-childhood autism symptoms influence a variety of outcomes in early-adolescence. An experimental study targeting middle-childhood EF to improve adolescent academic, emotional/behavioral, and adaptive functioning is needed to evaluate the clinical meaningfulness of these findings.
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Registered trials
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