Understanding sex/gender differences in intelligence profiles of children with Autism: A comprehensive WISC meta-analysis

IF 2.9 2区医学 Q1 EDUCATION, SPECIAL Research in Developmental Disabilities Pub Date : 2024-10-09 DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104854

{"title":"Understanding sex/gender differences in intelligence profiles of children with Autism: A comprehensive WISC meta-analysis","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104854","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Intelligence assessment in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often sparks debates about sex/gender differences. Specifically, the question arises whether girls exhibit lower performance on intelligence scales compared to boys. This meta-analysis examines nine studies (N=1105; 809 boys and 296 girls) to quantify sex/gender differences on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) in children with ASD, comparing their results to typically developing children.</div></div><div><h3>Method and procedures</h3><div>Random-effects meta-analyses on WISC indices and subtests were conducted to address the heterogeneity across effect sizes. Results for children with ASD were compared to those of typically developing children.</div></div><div><h3>Outcomes and results</h3><div>Findings revealed no significant differences in general intellectual functioning (full-scale IQ), verbal comprehension, working memory, or processing speed between boys and girls in children with ASD. Boys showed an advantage only in the perceptual reasoning index. At the subtest level, boys outperformed on certain tasks, while girls excelled in others.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions and implications</h3><div>The observed pattern of differences in the ASD population aligns quantitatively with those in typically developing populations. Differences, if present, are specific to certain indices rather than general intelligence. These insights contribute to a nuanced understanding of gender-related cognitive variations in the context of ASD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51351,"journal":{"name":"Research in Developmental Disabilities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Research in Developmental Disabilities","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422224001860","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SPECIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Intelligence assessment in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often sparks debates about sex/gender differences. Specifically, the question arises whether girls exhibit lower performance on intelligence scales compared to boys. This meta-analysis examines nine studies (N=1105; 809 boys and 296 girls) to quantify sex/gender differences on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) in children with ASD, comparing their results to typically developing children.

Method and procedures

Random-effects meta-analyses on WISC indices and subtests were conducted to address the heterogeneity across effect sizes. Results for children with ASD were compared to those of typically developing children.

Outcomes and results

Findings revealed no significant differences in general intellectual functioning (full-scale IQ), verbal comprehension, working memory, or processing speed between boys and girls in children with ASD. Boys showed an advantage only in the perceptual reasoning index. At the subtest level, boys outperformed on certain tasks, while girls excelled in others.

Conclusions and implications

The observed pattern of differences in the ASD population aligns quantitatively with those in typically developing populations. Differences, if present, are specific to certain indices rather than general intelligence. These insights contribute to a nuanced understanding of gender-related cognitive variations in the context of ASD.

查看原文

微信好友朋友圈 QQ好友复制链接

本刊更多论文

了解自闭症儿童智力特征的性别差异：WISC 综合荟萃分析。

背景：自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的智力评估经常引发有关性/性别差异的争论。具体来说，问题在于女孩在智力量表上的表现是否低于男孩。本荟萃分析考察了九项研究（N=1105；809名男孩和296名女孩），以量化自闭症儿童在韦氏儿童智力量表（WISC）上的性别差异，并将其结果与发育正常的儿童进行比较：对WISC指数和分测验进行随机效应荟萃分析，以解决效应大小的异质性问题。将患有自闭症的儿童的结果与发育正常儿童的结果进行比较：研究结果表明，患有 ASD 的男孩和女孩在一般智力功能（全面智商）、言语理解能力、工作记忆或处理速度方面没有明显差异。男孩仅在感知推理指数方面表现出优势。在子测试层面，男孩在某些任务中表现优异，而女孩则在其他任务中表现突出：在 ASD 群体中观察到的差异模式在数量上与典型发育人群中的差异模式一致。即使存在差异，也是特定指标的差异，而不是一般智力的差异。这些见解有助于深入理解在 ASD 背景下与性别相关的认知差异。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文去求助

来源期刊

Research in Developmental Disabilities Multiple-

CiteScore

5.50

自引率

6.50%

发文量

178

期刊介绍： Research In Developmental Disabilities is aimed at publishing original research of an interdisciplinary nature that has a direct bearing on the remediation of problems associated with developmental disabilities. Manuscripts will be solicited throughout the world. Articles will be primarily empirical studies, although an occasional position paper or review will be accepted. The aim of the journal will be to publish articles on all aspects of research with the developmentally disabled, with any methodologically sound approach being acceptable.