Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background To date, no study has compared the psychopathologies and unique characteristics of Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among Iranian children. This study aimed to compare the behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with ASD and ID. Met...

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Main Authors: Khashayar Danandeh, Maryam Masoudi, Negar Sadat Ahmadi, Tanin Adl Parvar, Ali Heidarzadeh, Monir Shayestehfar, Mohammadreza Khomeijani-Farahani, Amin Nakhostin-Ansari, Amirhossein Memari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:BMC Psychiatry
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06954-6
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author Khashayar Danandeh
Maryam Masoudi
Negar Sadat Ahmadi
Tanin Adl Parvar
Ali Heidarzadeh
Monir Shayestehfar
Mohammadreza Khomeijani-Farahani
Amin Nakhostin-Ansari
Amirhossein Memari
author_facet Khashayar Danandeh
Maryam Masoudi
Negar Sadat Ahmadi
Tanin Adl Parvar
Ali Heidarzadeh
Monir Shayestehfar
Mohammadreza Khomeijani-Farahani
Amin Nakhostin-Ansari
Amirhossein Memari
author_sort Khashayar Danandeh
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background To date, no study has compared the psychopathologies and unique characteristics of Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among Iranian children. This study aimed to compare the behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with ASD and ID. Methods Data were extracted from a large survey consisting of 250 children with ASD and 463 with ID, aged 6–17 years. Diagnoses were based on DSM-V criteria. The parent version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to evaluate psychopathologies. Scores regarding the sub-scales and specific items were extracted from CBCL and compared in two groups. In the end, the diagnostic value of some specific scores for diagnosing ASD was calculated. Results The final sample included 250 individuals with ASD and 463 with ID. The mean age of participants was 11.16 (SD = 2.67) and 12.67 (SD = 3.04) years for the ASD and ID groups, respectively. More than 95% of the ASD group were male, while in the ID group, 216 participants were male (46.7%). After adjusting subscale scores for parents’ education, age, gender, and comorbidity in a linear regression model, ASD was only associated with higher withdrawn (P < 0.001), thought problems (P < 0.001), and attention problems (P < 0.001). Conclusions This study highlights the distinct behavioral profiles in ASD and ID only using CBCL. Introducing this inventory as a comprehensive scale for understanding developmental disorders. Yet, our findings call for more accurate assessment and intervention strategies for each condition.
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spelling doaj-art-ca70eaa4487b4ac79bc92215b78034132025-08-20T03:48:19ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2025-05-0125111010.1186/s12888-025-06954-6Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional studyKhashayar Danandeh0Maryam Masoudi1Negar Sadat Ahmadi2Tanin Adl Parvar3Ali Heidarzadeh4Monir Shayestehfar5Mohammadreza Khomeijani-Farahani6Amin Nakhostin-Ansari7Amirhossein Memari8Sports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Sports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Sports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Sports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Sports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Sports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Sports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Neuromusculoskeletal Research Center, Iran University of Medical SciencesSports Medicine Research Center (SMRC), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)Abstract Background To date, no study has compared the psychopathologies and unique characteristics of Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among Iranian children. This study aimed to compare the behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with ASD and ID. Methods Data were extracted from a large survey consisting of 250 children with ASD and 463 with ID, aged 6–17 years. Diagnoses were based on DSM-V criteria. The parent version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to evaluate psychopathologies. Scores regarding the sub-scales and specific items were extracted from CBCL and compared in two groups. In the end, the diagnostic value of some specific scores for diagnosing ASD was calculated. Results The final sample included 250 individuals with ASD and 463 with ID. The mean age of participants was 11.16 (SD = 2.67) and 12.67 (SD = 3.04) years for the ASD and ID groups, respectively. More than 95% of the ASD group were male, while in the ID group, 216 participants were male (46.7%). After adjusting subscale scores for parents’ education, age, gender, and comorbidity in a linear regression model, ASD was only associated with higher withdrawn (P < 0.001), thought problems (P < 0.001), and attention problems (P < 0.001). Conclusions This study highlights the distinct behavioral profiles in ASD and ID only using CBCL. Introducing this inventory as a comprehensive scale for understanding developmental disorders. Yet, our findings call for more accurate assessment and intervention strategies for each condition.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06954-6Autism spectrum disorderIntellectual disabilityNeurodevelopmental conditionsPsychopathologyBehavioral pattern
spellingShingle Khashayar Danandeh
Maryam Masoudi
Negar Sadat Ahmadi
Tanin Adl Parvar
Ali Heidarzadeh
Monir Shayestehfar
Mohammadreza Khomeijani-Farahani
Amin Nakhostin-Ansari
Amirhossein Memari
Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional study
BMC Psychiatry
Autism spectrum disorder
Intellectual disability
Neurodevelopmental conditions
Psychopathology
Behavioral pattern
title Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional study
title_full Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional study
title_short Behavioral and emotional profiles of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in Iran: a cross-sectional study
title_sort behavioral and emotional profiles of school age children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in iran a cross sectional study
topic Autism spectrum disorder
Intellectual disability
Neurodevelopmental conditions
Psychopathology
Behavioral pattern
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06954-6
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