Abstract: Objective To explore sex difference of cognitive and behavioral characteristics in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods The study involved 621 children (503 boys,118 girls) diagnosed with ASD from June 2013 to June 2015.Raw scores,developmental ages,percentages were used to examine cognitive and behavioral characteristics in children with ASD based on the Psycho-Educational Profile-3rd Edition (PEP-3).The sample was divided into four groups according cognitive verbal/preverbal (CVP) percentages:A group(CVP:～25%),B group(CVP:～50%),C group(CVP:～75%),D group(CVP:～100%).Behavior characteristics were analyzed related to gender differences in different cognitive levels. Results 1)Girls with ASD had lower raw scores and developmental ages in CVP,expressive language (EL),receptive language (RL),fine motor (FM),gross motor (GM),visual-motor imitation (VMI),affective expression (AE),social reciprocity (SR),characteristic motor behaviors (CMB),characteristic verbal behaviors (CVB),problem behavior (PB),personal self-care (PSC) and adaptive behaviors (AB) than boys (P<0.05).2)In A group,girls had lower raw scores in CVP (P<0.001) and GM than boys (P=0.010).However,there were no differences in other subtests.Additionally,no gender differences were found in the other three groups (P>0.05). Conclusions Girls with ASD have lower cognitive ability,greater social communication impairment,weaker adaptive skills,weaker motor functioning and greater behavior problems relative to boys.Moreover,the low cognitive ability in girls with ASD may play a fundamental role in gender behavioral difference.

Key words: autism spectrum disorder, sex difference, Psycho-Educational Profile-3rd Edition, cognitive, behavioral

摘要： 目的 探讨孤独症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童认知功能与行为特征的性别差异。方法 选取2013年6月-2015年6月确诊ASD儿童621例，其中男503例，女118例。采用儿童心理教育评估第3版(PEP-3) 各副测验百分比、原积分、发展年龄评估ASD儿童认知功能与行为特征。根据PEP-3认知(CVP)副测验百分比分成四组:～25%组(A组)、～50%组(B组)、～75%组(C组)、～100%组(D组)。分析ASD儿童不同认知功能与性别差异相关的行为特征。结果 1)ASD女童组在PEP-3 各副测验包括认知(CVP)、语言表达(EL)、语言理解(RL)、小肌肉(FM)、大肌肉(GM)、模仿(VMI)、情感表达(AE)、社会互动(SR)、行为特征-非语言(CMB)、行为特征-语言(CVB)、问题行为(PB)、个人自理(PSC)、适应行为(AB)的原积分、发展年龄均低于男童组(P均<0.05)。2)A组女童CVP(P<0.001)、GM原积分(P=0.010)低于男童，ASD男女童在A组其余副测验以及B、C、D组副测验的原积分差异均未发现有统计学意义(P均>0.05)。结论 1)ASD女童认知功能、沟通社会互动、大小运动能力的损伤均较男童严重，个人自理能力、适应行为落后于男童。2)ASD女童认知功能低下是影响ASD行为特征男女性别差异的重要因素。

关键词: 孤独症谱系障碍, 性别差异, 儿童心理教育评估第3版, 认知, 行为