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Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of participants

From: Sex differences in the temporal dynamics of autistic children’s natural conversations

 

Autistic boys (N = 29)

Autistic girls (N = 16)

p-value (autistic girls vs. autistic boys)

NT boys (N = 23)

NT girls (N = 24)

p-value (all group comparisons)

Age (years)

12.3 (3.1)

10.0 (1.5)

0.043

10.0 (2.8)

10.1 (2.9)

0.006

Race

  

0.213

  

0.122

   N-missing

0

1

 

0

0

 

  African American or Black

2 (6.9%)

0 (0.0%)

 

7 (30.4%)

3 (12.5%)

 

  Asian or Pacific Islander

0 (0.0%)

1 (6.7%)

 

1 (4.3%)

1 (4.2%)

 

  Caucasian or White

26 (89.7%)

12 (80.0%)

 

12 (52.2%)

17 (70.8%)

 

  More than one race

1 (3.4%)

2 (13.3%)

 

3 (13.0%)

3 (12.5%)

 

Full-scale IQ (DAS-II GCA)

103.9 (13.4)

109.2 (8.7)

0.155

108.4 (12.2)

108.7 (12.6)

0.363

Verbal IQ

104.2 (14.3)

106.9 (9.6)

0.502

106.8 (13.2)

110.1 (15.0)

0.471

Nonverbal IQ

102.8 (11.8)

109.1 (12.8)

0.105

107.9 (11.9)

104.4 (12.8)

0.286

Maternal education

  

0.176

  

0.136

    N-Missing

6

3

 

1

0

 

    Bachelor’s or less

13 (56.5%)

4 (30.8%)

 

15 (68.2%)

12 (50.0%)

 

    Graduate degree

10 (43.5%)

8 (61.5%)

 

5 (22.7%)

12 (50.0%)

 

    High school or less

0 (0.0%)

1 (7.7%)

 

2 (9.1%)

0 (0.0%)

 

ADOS-2 Total

6.5 (1.8)

6.2 (2.4)

0.715

1.3 (0.4)

1.1 (0.3)

 < 0.001

ADOS-2 Social affect

6.9 (1.6)

5.9 (2.1)

0.105

1.7 (0.9)

1.5 (0.8)

 < 0.001

ADOS-2 RRB

6.4 (2.3)

7.5 (1.6)

0.097

1.7 (1.9)

1.3 (1.1)

 < 0.001

SCQ lifetime

18.5 (7.5)

18.2 (7.0)

0.897

3.0 (3.2)

1.8 (2.1)

 < 0.001

Social Responsiveness Scale (total)

67.1 (9.4)

73.9 (11.0)

0.051

46.4 (7.3)

45.5 (5.5)

 < 0.001

VABS Communication

83.9 (14.4)

88.4 (11.1)

0.306

108.0 (12.4)

110.1 (10.1)

 < 0.001

VABS Socialization

75.9 (12.2)

79.6 (13.1)

0.362

105.3 (9.8)

106.4 (8.5)

 < 0.001

Total conversation duration (sec)

323.6 (17.6)

323.8 (17.7)

0.975

326.1 (36.2)

333.3 (38.7)

0.642

  1. Results of t-tests comparing autistic boys and girls are presented in the first p-value column. Results of the ANOVA models for the comparison of all four groups are shown in the second p-value column (autistic girls vs. autistic boys vs. NT girls vs. NT boys)
  2. NT: neurotypical; ADOS-2: Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition; RRB: Restricted and repetitive behaviors; SCQ: Social Communication Questionnaire; VABS: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales