Behaviour management problems as predictors of psychotropic medication and use of psychiatric services in adults with autism

Elias Tsakanikos; Helen Costello; Geraldine Holt; Peter Sturmey; Nick Bouras

doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0248-1

Behaviour management problems as predictors of psychotropic medication and use of psychiatric services in adults with autism

J Autism Dev Disord. 2007 Jul;37(6):1080-5. doi: 10.1007/s10803-006-0248-1.

Authors

Elias Tsakanikos¹, Helen Costello, Geraldine Holt, Peter Sturmey, Nick Bouras

Affiliation

¹ Division of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, Estia Center, 66 Snowsfields, London, SE1 3SS, UK. e.tsakanikos@iop.kcl.ac.uk

PMID: 17053989
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-006-0248-1

Abstract

We examined behaviour management problems as predictors of psychotropic medication, use of psychiatric consultation and in-patient admission in a group of 66 adults with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and intellectual disability (ID) and 99 controls matched in age, gender and level of ID. Overall, people with PDD had higher rates of most DAS behaviour problems and more frequent use of anti-psychotics than matched controls. Logistic regression analyses showed that physical aggression and problems such as pestering staff independently predicted use of anti-psychotics. Physical aggression and overactivity predicted further involvement of psychiatric services. PDD diagnosis predicted admission to an in-patient unit. The results suggest that externalizing problem behaviours in adults with autism can predict type of treatment intervention.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aggression / drug effects
Anticonvulsants / therapeutic use
Antipsychotic Agents / therapeutic use
Autistic Disorder / diagnosis
Autistic Disorder / drug therapy*
Autistic Disorder / epidemiology
Autistic Disorder / psychology
Child
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / diagnosis
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / drug therapy*
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / epidemiology
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / psychology
Comorbidity
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Health Services Needs and Demand / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Hypnotics and Sedatives / therapeutic use
Internal-External Control
London
Male
Mental Disorders / diagnosis
Mental Disorders / drug therapy*
Mental Disorders / epidemiology
Mental Disorders / psychology
Mental Health Services / statistics & numerical data*
Middle Aged
Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data
Psychotropic Drugs / therapeutic use*
Referral and Consultation / statistics & numerical data
Statistics as Topic
Utilization Review

Substances

Anticonvulsants
Antipsychotic Agents
Hypnotics and Sedatives
Psychotropic Drugs