Cross-cultural differences in comorbid symptoms of children with autism spectrum disorders: an international examination between Israel, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between culture and symptoms of comorbid psychopathology in those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

DESIGN

Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) for each country and each sub-scale of the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbid for Children (ASD-CC). Follow-up independent univariate analyses and post-hoc tests as needed.

METHODS

Separate samples from South Korea, the UK and Israel were compared to a sample from the US in order to examine cultural contributions, using the ASD-CC.

RESULTS

Overall, few differences were found. Significantly, the US had significantly higher scores than South Korea on the avoidant sub-scale. Additionally, the US had significantly higher scores than Israel on the over-eating and tantrum sub-scales. No significant differences were found between the US and the UK.

CONCLUSION

Cultural factors, such as views of typical behaviour, should be taken into account when examining symptoms of comorbidity in children with ASD.