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Exploring the Relationship Between Anxiety and Insistence on Sameness in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Author(s) -
Gotham Katherine,
Bishop Somer L.,
Hus Vanessa,
Huerta Marisela,
Lund Sabata,
Buja Andreas,
Krieger Abba,
Lord Catherine
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
autism research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.656
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1939-3806
pISSN - 1939-3792
DOI - 10.1002/aur.1263
Subject(s) - anxiety , autism , psychology , irritability , autism spectrum disorder , clinical psychology , psychopathology , aggression , developmental psychology , psychiatry
Elevated anxiety symptoms are one of the most common forms of psychopathology to co‐occur with autism spectrum disorders ( ASDs ). The purpose of this study was to explore the association between anxiety and ASD symptoms, particularly the degree to which the relationship is explained by insistence on sameness ( IS ) behaviors and/or cognitive ability. The sample included 1429 individuals aged 5:8–18:0 years who participated in the S imons S implex C ollection, a genetic consortium study of ASD . C hild B ehavior C hecklist A nxiety P roblems T ‐scores and A utism D iagnostic I nterview‐ R evised “ IS “ item raw totals were treated as both categorical and continuous measures of anxiety and IS , respectively. C hronological age, verbal intelligence quotient ( IQ ), and a variety of ASD phenotype‐related and other behavioral variables were assessed for potential association with anxiety and IS . Anxiety and IS continuous variables were minimally, although significantly, associated with each other and with chronological age and verbal IQ . Neither anxiety nor IS was associated with other core autism diagnostic scores. Anxiety was associated with a variety of other psychiatric and behavioral symptoms in ASD , including irritability, attention problems, and aggression, while IS was not. Anxiety and IS appear to function as distinct constructs, each with a wide range of expression in children with ASD across age and IQ levels. Thus, both variables could be of use in ASD behavioral research or in dimensional approaches to genetic exploration. Unlike IS , however, anxiety is related to non‐ ASD ‐specific behavioral symptoms. Autism Res 2012, ●●: ●●–●●. © 2012 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.