Exploring the Association between Cognitive Functioning and Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Social Understanding and Aggression

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

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Anxiety; Autism; Intelligence Quotient; Cognitive Ability; Children; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Social Development; Aggression; Correlation; Clinical Diagnosis; Asperger Syndrome; Hospitals; Parents; Child Development; Age Differences; Toddlers; Young Children; Predictor Variables; Preschool Children; Elementary School Students

Mullen Scales of Early Learning; Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; Behavior Assessment System for Children; Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence

10.1080/15374416.2012.651994

1537-4416

This study examined relations between anxiety, aggression, social understanding, IQ, and diagnosis in a sample of 231 children (ages 2-9) diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs; Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) in a hospital setting. Children were administered tests of IQ, and parents completed measures of remaining variables. ASD diagnosis was associated with level of anxiety, and level of IQ explained this relation. IQ was significantly and positively associated with anxiety. Tests of a developmental model to explain the relation between IQ and anxiety showed that social understanding and aggression mediated the relation for toddlers. For preschool- and early elementary school-aged children, respectively, three-way interactions between IQ, social understanding, and aggression predicted anxiety, and graphs of the interactions suggest that the association between IQ and anxiety is increasingly driven by either aggression or social understanding over the course of childhood. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

As Provided

56

2013

EJ989283