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Social motivation in infancy is associated with familial recurrence of ASD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2022

Natasha Marrus Open the ORCID record for Natasha Marrus [Opens in a new window] ,
Kelly N. Botteron ,
Zoë Hawks Open the ORCID record for Zoë Hawks [Opens in a new window] ,
John R. Pruett Jr. ,
Jed T. Elison Open the ORCID record for Jed T. Elison [Opens in a new window] ,
Joshua J. Jackson ,
Lori Markson ,
Adam T. Eggebrecht ,
Catherine A. Burrows  and
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
...Show all authors
Natasha Marrus*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Kelly N. Botteron
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Zoë Hawks
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
John R. Pruett Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Jed T. Elison
Affiliation:
Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Joshua J. Jackson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
Lori Markson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
Adam T. Eggebrecht
Affiliation:
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Catherine A. Burrows
Affiliation:
Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Stephen R. Dager
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Annette M. Estes
Affiliation:
Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Heather Cody Hazlett
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Robert T. Schultz
Affiliation:
Center for Austin Research, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Joseph Piven
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
John N. Constantino
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
*
Corresponding author: Natasha Marrus, email: natasha@wustl.edu
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Abstract

Pre-diagnostic deficits in social motivation are hypothesized to contribute to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a heritable neurodevelopmental condition. We evaluated psychometric properties of a social motivation index (SMI) using parent-report item-level data from 597 participants in a prospective cohort of infant siblings at high and low familial risk for ASD. We tested whether lower SMI scores at 6, 12, and 24 months were associated with a 24-month ASD diagnosis and whether social motivation’s course differed relative to familial ASD liability. The SMI displayed good internal consistency and temporal stability. Children diagnosed with ASD displayed lower mean SMI T-scores at all ages and a decrease in mean T-scores across age. Lower group-level 6-month scores corresponded with higher familial ASD liability. Among high-risk infants, strong decline in SMI T-scores was associated with 10-fold odds of diagnosis. Infant social motivation is quantifiable by parental report, differentiates children with versus without later ASD by age 6 months, and tracks with familial ASD liability, consistent with a diagnostic and susceptibility marker of ASD. Early decrements and decline in social motivation indicate increased likelihood of ASD, highlighting social motivation’s importance to risk assessment and clarification of the ontogeny of ASD.

Keywords

autism spectrum disorderinfancymeasurementsocial motivation
Type
Regular Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , February 2024 , pp. 101 - 111
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

Joseph Piven and John N. Constantino contributed equally.

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