The adult outcome of childhood quasi-autism arising following extreme institutional deprivation

Accepted/In Press date: 31 December 2022

e-pub ahead of print date: 13 February 2023

Published date: September 2023

Additional Information: Funding Information: The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Shanly Foundation who funded a studentship to the first author and all the families and young people who have participated in this study over the many years it has been running. The ERA study was established by Professor Sir Michael Rutter to whom we continue to be indebted for his scientific insights and leadership. This work was funded by a project grant from the UK Economic Social Research Council (ESRC; RES‐062‐23‐3300). Over the last 3 years, E.S‐B. has received speaker fees, consultancy, research funding and conference support from Shire Pharma and speaker fees from Janssen Cilag. He has received consultancy fees from Neurotech solutions, Aarhus University, Copenhagen University and Berhanderling, Skolerne, Copenhagen, KU Leuven. He has received book royalties from OUP and Jessica Kingsley. He is the editor‐in‐chief of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry for which his University receives financial support. M.S. is supported by the Alicia Koplowitz Foundation. No other authors have any conflicts of interest to report. Key points Funding Information: The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Shanly Foundation who funded a studentship to the first author and all the families and young people who have participated in this study over the many years it has been running. The ERA study was established by Professor Sir Michael Rutter to whom we continue to be indebted for his scientific insights and leadership. This work was funded by a project grant from the UK Economic Social Research Council (ESRC; RES-062-23-3300). Over the last 3 years, E.S-B. has received speaker fees, consultancy, research funding and conference support from Shire Pharma and speaker fees from Janssen Cilag. He has received consultancy fees from Neurotech solutions, Aarhus University, Copenhagen University and Berhanderling, Skolerne, Copenhagen, KU Leuven. He has received book royalties from OUP and Jessica Kingsley. He is the editor-in-chief of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry for which his University receives financial support. M.S. is supported by the Alicia Koplowitz Foundation. No other authors have any conflicts of interest to report.Key points High rates of what Rutter termed Quasi-Autism (QA) were found in young children exposed to extreme institutional deprivation. This study provides the first detailed analysis of the adult outcomes of adoptees with childhood QA. Childhood QA is persistent into adulthood, overlaps with ADHD and disinhibited social engagement and is associated with mental health difficulties and functional impairment. The strong persistence and complex nature of QA in adults exposed to early deprivation highlights the need to provide adequate specialist support to autistic individuals exposed to early deprivation as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. High rates of what Rutter termed Quasi-Autism (QA) were found in young children exposed to extreme institutional deprivation. This study provides the first detailed analysis of the adult outcomes of adoptees with childhood QA. Childhood QA is persistent into adulthood, overlaps with ADHD and disinhibited social engagement and is associated with mental health difficulties and functional impairment. The strong persistence and complex nature of QA in adults exposed to early deprivation highlights the need to provide adequate specialist support to autistic individuals exposed to early deprivation as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Keywords: Autism, Romanian adoptees, early adversity, institutional deprivation, longitudinal, quasi-autism

Local EPrints ID: 475213

URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/475213

DOI: doi:10.1111/jcpp.13767

ISSN: 1469-7610

PURE UUID: daf04eec-9b18-442e-a107-680836e3c9a6

ORCID for Jana Kreppner: orcid.org/0000-0003-3527-9083

Date deposited: 14 Mar 2023 17:43

Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:13