Predicting Inhibitory Control at 30 Months of Age from Repetitive Behavior on the First Year Inventory (2016)

Undergraduates: Siddharth Shankar, Rebecca Stephens, M.A.

Faculty Advisor: J. Steven Reznick
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex set of diverse developmental issues that is often characterized in childhood and beyond by the prevalence of repetitive, focused behaviors and difficulty with controlling one's dominant responses (i.e., lack of inhibitory control). This lack of inhibitory control has been linked to ASD in middle childhood (about 6-12 years old) and beyond, while the prevalence of repetitive behavior has been observed in infants diagnosed with ASD as early as 17-37 months of age; some studies have also found links between the two in older autistic individuals. This study examined whether repetitive behavior at 12 months of age predicts impaired inhibitory control at 2.5 years of age. Repetitive behavior was measured by a subscale of the First Year Inventory, a parent-report questionnaire designed to detect risk for an eventual ASD diagnosis (Baranek et al., 2003). Inhibitory control was measured by a subscale of the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire, Short Form, a parent-report inventory designed to measure aspects of temperament in children aged 18-36 months (Putnam, Gartstein, & Rothbart, 2006). The results of this study suggest that repetitive behavior at 12 months is a significant predictor of impaired inhibitory control at 2.5 years, which could help with ascertaining early links between different potential symptoms of ASD.