Table 2.
Studies of Anxiety in Children and Adolescents with ASD with Focus on Phenomenology
| Author (year) | Na | Sample Characteristicsb | Anxiety measurec | Control group(s)d | Primary Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellini (2006) | 41 | AD(19), AS (16), PDD-NOS(6). Age range: 12-18 (M: 14); No MR | P, S | None | Social skill deficits and physiological hyperarousal contributed to variance seen in symptoms of social anxiety in teens with ASD (R2 = .341, p < .0005). |
| Burnette et al. (2005) | 31 | HFA. Age range: NA(M: 11); VIQ M: 109; PIQ M:110 | S | Learning disabled(17) TD (16) | Autistic subjects self-reported significantly more social anxiety F = 4.11, p = .05); no relationship was found between anxiety and weak central coherence. |
| Farrugia & Hudson (2006) | 29 | AS. Age range: 12-16 (M: 13) | P, S | Anxiety disordered (34); TD (30) | Self-reported symptoms of anxiety were equivalent to those of teens with anxiety disorders; anxiety symptoms, neg. automatic thoughts were significantly higher than in control group. |
| Gillott et al. (2001) | 15 | HFA. Age range: 8-12 (M: 10) | P, S | Specific language imp (15); TD(15),age &, gender matched | Rate of anxiety was higher in HFA group than in typically developing or language impaired children; 7 of 15 children with HFA were at or above clinical mean score. |
| Green et al. (2000) | 20 | AS. Age range: 11-19 (M: 13); IQ>70 | Int | Conduct disorder (20) | Significantly greater general anxiety and OCD symptoms on clinical interview with AS than conduct disordered sample. |
| Juranek et al. (2006) | 42 | AD. Age range: 3-14) (M: 7) | P | None | Significant correlation found between amygdala volume (total and right side) and parent-reported anxiety/depression scores |
| Kanai et al. (2004) | 74 | PDD-NOS (53), HFA (21). Age range: 2-23 (M: 6) | Obs | None | Subjects with PDD-NOS exhibited stronger anxiety reaction than those with HFA. |
| Meyer et al. (2006) | 31 | AS. Age range: 7-13 (M:10) | P, S | TD (33) | Child-reported social anxiety correlated with parent-report social competence. |
| Pearson et al. (2006) | 51 | AD(26), PDD NOS(25). Age range: 4-18(M:10) | P | None | No significant differences found between children with PDD-NOS and AD on anxiety symptoms, although both groups approached clinical significance. |
| Pfeiffer et al. (2005) | 50 | AS. Age range: 6-17 (M:9) | P | None | Significant correlation found between sensory defensiveness and anxiety in children with AD. |
| Russell & Sofronoff (2005) | 65 | AS. Ages: 10-13 (M: NA) | P, S | None | Children with AS rated themselves equally anxious as children diagnosed with social phobia but did not endorse high levels of social worries. |
| Thede & Coolidge (2006) | 31 | AS(16), HFA (15). Age range: 5-17 (M: 10) | P | Age, gender matched TD (31) | Children with AS had more symptoms of anxiety than did children with HFA; 10 of 16 children with AS had elevated GAD scale scores. |
| Tonge et al. (1999) | 127 | AS (52), HFA (75). Age range: 4-18 (M for AD: 7; M for AS: 9) | P | None | Subjects with AS received higher ratings of overall psychopathology and higher anxiety ratings than the AD subjects; 65% of AD group and 85% of AS group achieved clinically significant levels of psychopathology |
| Weisbrot et al. (2005) | 483 | PDD-NOS (209), AD(170), AS (104). Age range: 3-12 (2 samples:3-5 yrs & 6-12 yrs) | P, O | Non-ASD, clinical referrals (326) | Both parents and teachers rated school-age children with ASD as having more anxiety symptoms than non-ASD children; ASD children with more anxiety had higher rates of psychotic symptoms, similar to non-ASD children. |
| Williamson et al. (2008) | 19 | AS. Age range: 11-5 (M: 13) | S | Non-ASD students; age, gender, ethnicity matched (19) | Youth with AS did not obtain higher total anxiety scores, but did report more obsessive-compulsive symptoms than non-ASD youth. |
TD=typically developing
a
Size of ASD sample
b
Diagnosis: Number of participants with specific diagnoses. AD=Autistic Disorder, AS=Asperger’s Syndrome, HFA=High-Functioning Autism, PDD-NOS=Pervasive-Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, ASD=sample not categorized by specific diagnoses.
c
Anxiety measure (modality): D=Direct: direct testing or assessment of child’s skills or knowledge; P=Parent: parent-report measure; O=Other: other-report (e.g., teacher); S=Self: self-rating; Obs=Coded behavioral observations; I=Interview of parent and/or child; C=Clinical observations only.
d
Composition of control group/comparison scores (N = number of subjects), if applicable. Note that only control groups ascertained as part of the study are included.