Pathological demand avoidance in children and adolescents: A systematic review

Abstract

Requests for pathological demand avoidance diagnoses have increased over recent years but pathological demand avoidance remains a controversial issue. We undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies of pathological demand avoidance, using standardised appraisal and synthesis methods, to assess how pathological demand avoidance is identified and to explore the relationships between pathological demand avoidance, autism and other developmental/psychiatric disorders. A search of PsycINFO/PubMed/MEDLINE/Embase identified 13 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Narrative synthesis was chosen due to methodological heterogeneity of the identified studies. Autistic children/adolescents constituted the majority of participants in most studies. Most studies provided clearly defined inclusion criteria together with adequate descriptions of participants and study settings. Almost all studies relied on the parental report of pathological demand avoidance symptoms/diagnosis. Identification of pathological demand avoidance in all studies seemed to be, directly or indirectly, based on the criteria developed by Newson et al. While eight studies used objective criteria for the identification of pathological demand avoidance, the measures used have methodological limitations. Though associations with anxiety have been reported, few studies took account of possible relationships between pathological demand avoidance and other conditions, such as anxiety. Methodological limitations restrict current conclusions regarding the uniformity or stability of the constellation of behaviours associated with pathological demand avoidance or the characteristics of individuals displaying them. Clinical implications of current research are discussed. Lay Abstract Requests for diagnoses of pathological demand avoidance have increased over recent years, but pathological demand avoidance remains a controversial issue. The concept of pathological demand avoidance has been criticised for undermining the self-advocacy of autistic people and neglecting the potential role of anxiety as a possible underlying or contributing cause. The current study was undertaken to summarise and review the methodological quality and findings from current research into pathological demand avoidance in children and adolescents. Further aims were to describe how pathological demand avoidance has been identified and to explore the relationships with autism and other developmental and psychiatric disorders. After a comprehensive search, 13 relevant studies using a wide range of methods were identified and systematic quality assessments were undertaken. All the studies had based the identification of pathological demand avoidance, directly or indirectly, on descriptions from the original study by Newson and colleagues. However, the methods used to develop these criteria were not clearly described. Most studies relied exclusively on parental report for data, and there was a general failure to take account of alternative explanations for the behaviours under study. No studies explored the views of individuals with pathological demand avoidance themselves. Problems concerning definition and measurement in the reviewed studies currently limit any conclusions regarding the uniformity or stability of the behaviours described, or the characteristics of individuals displaying them. Relationships between pathological demand avoidance and other emotional and behavioural difficulties should be explored in future research, as should the perspectives of individuals with pathological demand avoidance themselves.