Title: Health-related risky behaviors in Chinese adolescents with autism

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to investigate health-related risky behaviors in adolescents with autism. Scope: We mainly discussed the characteristics of health-related risk behaviors in adolescents with autism and high-function autism. Participants in the case and control groups were aged 12-19 years. Results: The results showed that the total score of AHRBI and scores of "aggression and violence (AV)", "suicide or self-injury (SS)", "health-compromising behavior (HCB)", and "unprotected sex (US)" subscales in the autism group (including high-autism group) were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P< 0.05). Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, low IQ score, low ToM test score, increasing age, poor adaptation to school life and communication disorder were found as risk factors for health-related risky behaviors in autistic adolescents. Methods used: Our study included case group and control group. The case group consisted of adolescents who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4thedition criteria (DSM-IV) for autism. There were also age, sex matched controls enrolled who came from a public school in Beijing, China. Both groups completed the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory. Nonparametric tests were carried out for comparison of the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory scores between the two groups. Expression recognition, the Inventory of Subjective Life Quality for Child and Adolescent, Chinese Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adult-Chinese Revised, Theory of Mind test, Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale, Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, Self-Esteem Scale and Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire were assessed in the autism group to explore factors associated with health-related risky behaviors. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to explore the risk factors of health-related risky behaviors in the autism group. Conclusion: This study showed that adolescents with autism were more likely to be involved in health-related risky behaviors. Different health-related risky behaviors have different reasons.