Autism Secondary Data Analysis Program - The proposed study is a collaboration between an early-stage investigator and a senior investigator who are keen to work together to advance research on the health and wellbeing of families and children with and without autism. The goal of this research is to contribute to the scientific study of autism, child development, and child/adolescent wellbeing through a longitudinal examination of how challenging (internalizing and externalizing) and adaptive social behaviors develop from early childhood through adolescence, and how these trajectories relate to health and wellbeing among children with autism compared to their peers without autism. Leveraging data from the nationally representative Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), the study will analyze a socio-demographically diverse group of children’s behavioral trajectories across key developmental stages (ages 3 to 15) and subsequently examine how these trajectories relate to health and wellbeing outcomes including cognitive functioning, weight status, depression, and anxiety. The overall study sample consists of 3,579 families from the FFCWS, of which 84 children were reported to have an autism diagnosis and the remaining 3,495 were not. We will use mixed-effects hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), a comprehensive multilevel method that tracks group differences (autism vs. non-autism) across multiple timepoints to understand children’s developmental trajectories and how behavioral factors may relate to their health and wellbeing. This method can also account for the influence of demographic and families socioeconomic (SES) characteristics on these patterns. By examining material hardship, parental employment, and a broad range of SES factors, this study will highlight how poverty and structural issues families face might impact child development. Both PIs are committed to disseminating evidence from this study to inform practice, research, and policy. Ultimately, results from this study may provide critical insights for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers regarding (1) the specific point(s) at which behavioral and other health interventions are more likely to be effective; and (2) the types of family and community interventions most likely to promote positive behavioral and health development among children with and without autism, especially those from low-income and underserved backgrounds.
