Association between caregiver-child interaction and autistic-like behaviors at around three years of age

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of autistic-like behaviors is increasing worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. With a high disease burden and complex developmental causes, there has been much interest in the etiology of the disease, and there is a lack of evidence on the relationship between caregiver-child interaction and autistic-like behaviors. Aim/objectiveThis study investigated the association between caregiver-child interaction and children's autistic-like behaviors during early childhood. MethodThe subjects of this study were 171 kindergartens selected from the Longhua Child Cohort Study (LCCS), and a total of 40,237 children around the age of three were included. Sociodemographic characteristics, family income, and frequency of interaction between caregivers and children were all filled in by the child's primary caregiver, and the adapted Chinese Autism Behavior Checklist was used to assess children's autism-like behaviors. Tobit Regression and ancovariance analysis (ANCOVA) were used to measure the relationship between caregiver-child interactions (family and social activities) and autism-like behaviors, with a two-tailed p value of <0.05 being significant. ResultsTobit regression analyses found that in the 0–1 year age group, different frequencies of singing activities by caregivers with children (<3 times per week, 3–6 times per week, 6 times or more per week) were significantly negatively associated with autistic-like behaviors in a dose-response manner (B values of −0.323, −0.381, −0.544, all p < 0.0001); in the 1–3 year age group, different frequencies of reading interactions by caregivers with children (<3 times per week, 3–6 times per week, 6 times or more per week) were also significantly negatively associated with autistic-like behaviors in a dose-response manner (B values of −0.388, −0.632, −0.956, all p < 0.0001), and similar associations were found in singing and chatting interactions. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that higher frequencies of early caregiver-child interactions are associated with lower levers of autistic-like behaviors in children around the age of three years.