부산대학교 도서관

Objective: Hypotheses of the current study were that deficits in specific executive functioning (EF) domains in Autism Spectrum (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) mediate comorbid syndromes, such that inflexibility in ASD mediates internalizing problems, whereas behavioral disinhibition in ADHD mediates externalizing problems. Method: Archival data from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were obtained for 125 children (55 ADHD Combined or Hyperactive/Impulsive type, 70 ASD) evaluated at a childrenʼs hospital in the Mid-Atlantic. Data were analyzed using path analysis. Results: Results supported a slightly modified model (Fig. ), χ(2) = 2.943, p = .229; CFI = 0.994, RMSEA = 0.061, SRMR = 0.058; children with ASD exhibited significantly more inflexibility than those with ADHD, which accounted for the variability in internalizing problems as reported on the CBCL (indirect effect = 1.465, p = .023; 95% bias-corrected, bootstrapped CI of 5,000 samples: 0.203, 2.728). Children with ADHD exhibited significantly more behavioral disinhibition than those with ASD, which partly accounted for the variability in CBCL externalizing problem scores (indirect effect = −3.228, p < .001; 95% bias-corrected, bootstrapped CI of 5,000 samples: −4.842, −1.613); however, inflexibility also mediated differences in externalizing problems across diagnostic groups (indirect effect = 1.229, p = .040; 95% bias-corrected CI based on 5,000 samples: 0.055, 2.404). Conclusion: Findings support that there are distinct EF impairment profiles in ASD and ADHD that mediate associations with comorbid psychopathology. In addition, determinants of externalizing disorders are complex, consistent with preliminary research on potentially different dimensions of externalizing psychopathology.