Title:
Autism traits in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and their relation to executive functioning
Author:
Kelley E. Anderson
Thesis Advisor:
Rachel L. Grover
Committee Member:
Beth A. Kotchick
Committee Member:
Christopher I. Higginson
Committee Member:
James Buckley
Committee Member:
Marco A. Grados
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2015
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
The current study investigated executive dysfunction as a potential endophenotype of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. More specifically, it examined whether the relatives of individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and high autism traits differed in their executive function abilities when compared to relatives of patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and low autism traits. Twenty-seven probands ranging from 6 to 18 years in age were diagnosed with OCD by a licensed psychiatrist by means of the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS, Kaufman et al., 1996). Each proband was administered the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS, Constantino and Gruber, 2005) to determine level of autism traits. A median split of SRS scores was used to create high and low autism trait proband groups and corresponding relative groups. Relatives were comprised of 102 adults ranging from 19 to 82 years in age. Each relative completed the adult Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-A, Gioia et al., 2000). It was hypothesized that relatives of OCD probands with high autism traits would report greater executive dysfunction than relatives of OCD probands with low autism traits. It was also predicted that the Metacognition Index of the BRIEF would account for more variance (i.e., would be a stronger predictor) in group membership (i.e., relatives of individuals with OCD and high autism traits vs. relatives of individuals with OCD and low autism traits) than the Behavioral Regulation Index. Contrary to the hypotheses, none of the above predictions were supported. The implications of these results were discussed.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Master of Science
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online to Loyola Notre Dame Library basic constituency.
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Identifier:
AndersonKE-15
