Investigating the Relationship between Self-Injurious Behavior, Social Deficits, and Cooccurring Behaviors in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Research suggests that self-injurious behavior (SIB) is related to social deficits and cooccurring problem behaviors in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. A sample of 95 participants with ASD was assessed on presence and frequency of SIB (Behavior Problems Inventory), social deficits (the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II) and cooccurring problem behaviors (ASD-Comorbidity-Child version). A model was created and tested to explain the relationship between these variables. Results showed that the model was acceptable in presenting the relationships between these variables. This information could be used to help predict which individuals are at risk of developing further cooccurring behavioral problems and determine risk markers for the development of social deficits. 1. Introduction Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is possibly the most acute of all the behavioral problems that are commonly present in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders [1]. SIB is often described as a chronic form of challenging behavior, the aetiology of which has been poorly understood [2, 3]. It is a challenging behavior for parents, professionals, and direct care staff [4]. Jones [5] divided SIB into two classes on the basis of frequency: “stereotyped self-injurious behavior” (SSIB) referred to self-injury that is displayed in a repetitive, invariant way and which is typically exhibited at a high rate, and “self-aggression” which is described as having a stronger link with environmental contingencies and is often exhibited at a lower rate. The topography of SIB varies from case to case, head hitting against objects or hands and hand biting, skin scratching, and hitting other parts of the body being the most common [6, 7]. Autism spectrum disorder is a prevalent developmental disorder which has grown in prevalence over the past decade [8]. Research has shown that abnormal behaviors are common in children with ASD [9]. Murphy et al. [10] found that 48% of children with ASD exhibited a form of SIB, with the most common topography being hand biting. SIB was also seen to cooccur, in the majority of cases, with another form of challenging behavior such as aggression or stereotypy. Baghdadli et al. [11] found that 50% of 222 children with ASD under the age of 7 years engaged in SIB, higher than those with just ID. Increased prevalence rates of SIB have been shown to be associated with a range of personal and environmental factors such as age, restrictiveness of environment, and impairments of mobility and communication [6]. Individuals
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