SynthesisJournal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry2026
Systematic Review: The Psychosocial Impacts of Autism-Related Genetic Testing.
Synthesis in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Chromosome 15q Structural Variants Associated with Syndromic Autism Spectrum Disorder: Clinical and Genomic Insights from Three Case Reports in a Brazilian Reference Center.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo perform a systematic literature review of the psychosocial impacts on parents and autistic people of receiving autism-related genetic test results.
methodSystematic searches of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection, Sociological Index, and Scopus were conducted for articles appearing through October 27, 2024. The authors screened 3,606 articles. The quality of the included articles was assessed with the Quality Appraisal for Diverse Studies (QuADS) appraisal tool.
resultsInclusion criteria were met by 22 articles. Across research and clinical settings, articles assessed impacts of receiving actual (18 articles) or hypothetical (4 articles) genetic test results. Twenty articles assessed impacts on parents and prospective parents, whereas 2 articles assessed impacts on autistic adults. Psychological impacts of receiving results varied and included relief, peace of mind, reduced guilt, disappointment, fear, frustration, stress, blame, and guilt. Comparison of the frequencies of these responses was limited by heterogeneous assessment methods, variable reporting formats, and inconsistent outcome measures across studies. Receiving results sometimes confirmed diagnoses, led to altered care plans, influenced family planning, or impacted the decision to end or continue a pregnancy. Most articles reported low-to-mild or highly variable satisfaction with the testing experience. Studies of autistic adults reported strong concerns about testing without consent and discriminatory uses of genetics.
conclusionImpacts on parents and prospective parents appeared to be relatively modest, albeit with mixed valences-a finding broadly similar to studies addressing return of results for other complex genetic conditions. Although the findings of the 2 studies of autistic adults differ substantially, they suggest that autistic people and current and prospective parents of autistic children may have significantly different experiences and perspectives. Clinicians should recognize these differences and help parents understand and weigh them in decision making. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This review analyzed the impact on patients and their families receiving genetic test results about autism using data from 22 studies. Psychological impacts of receiving results varied and included relief, peace of mind, reduced guilt, disappointment, fear, frustration, stress, blame, and guilt. Methods and results varied widely, making it hard to compare studies. The study also indicated the need for more research with and for autistic people, including children when possible. STUDY REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Systematic Review of the Psychosocial and Behavioral Impacts of Returning Genetic Results for Autism Spectrum Disorder; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=258842.
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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.