WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Siham Kadhim Salman Al-Rahma*, Zainab Ali Saleem Al-Wardi, Eman A. Al-Kaseer, Besmah M. Ali and Prof. Jawad K. Al-Diwan

ABSTRACT

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders with complex genetic components that are influenced by the environment. Although Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders is increasing, there is a shortage of reliable reports in Iraq. Study objective: To highlight the Autism Spectrum Disorders among children of broken families. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at Personal Status Courts in Baghdad-Iraq from January 2023 to April 2023. All children of separated couples who attended the court during this period at the time of data collection were included in the study. An interview was done with child’s custodial parent in the court. Collecting data was done by using a structured questionnaire. A questionnaire of 2 parts; Sociodemographic features and Autism Spectrum Disorders' features, by using a subscale of Children Autism Rating Scale II (CARS II). Chi square and fisher’s exact tests were used alternatively. Results: The total study sample was 44 child belonged to 36 separated couples. Their age ranged from 2 to 12 years old. The largest proportion of them were males (70.5%). Their custodial parents were mainly mothers (75%).They had negative history for both medical and prenatal health problems (75% for each). Unfortunately, (11.4%) of them didn’t see their non-custodial parents for months or more (since the date of the divorce). ASD was found in 15.9% (7 out of 44) of them with boys affected at greater rates than girls (6:1). Conclusions: Autism Spectrum Disorders was increased among children of broken families.

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