Does broad autism phenotype traits affect mother-child interaction?: a cross-sectional study from Turkey.

Objectives: Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) is defined as personality, social, and language features that parallel the defining behavioral characteristics of autism spectrum disorder, including social deficits, communication abnormalities, and stereotyped repetitive behavior. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of maternal BAP characteristics on the dynamic interaction between mothers and their children. Methods: Children aged 12-60 months who were referred to the Infant Mental Health Unit of our outpatient clinic were analyzed. Forty-one children who were diagnosed with autism and 35 children who were diagnosed with global developmental delay (GDD) and their mothers were included in the study. The Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIR-GAS), Autism-Spectrum Quotient (ASQ), Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, and Recognition of Emotional Maltreatment Scale (REMS) were used. Results: The PIR-GAS score was significantly lower in the autism group than in the GDD group, and mothers of children with autistic children exhibited higher BAP scores. Conclusions: Our study suggests a link between maternal BAP scores and the quality of mother-child relationships. Further studies are needed to examine and improve our ability to evaluate the effects of parental BAP in terms of parental intervention effectiveness.