Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Modern Approaches in Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Anxiety Symptoms Mediate the Associations of Core Symptoms with Behavioral Problems in School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Jin-Ming Liu, Qing-Xin Chen2, Shuang Wu, Qi Chen, Kun Zhai, Yu-Lan Wu, Hui-Ting Chen, Yu Jin
ABSTRACT:
Anxiety emerges as a common comorbidity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the impacts of anxiety symptoms on children with ASD remain uncertain. This study examined the mediating effects of various anxiety symptoms, aiming to enhance our understanding of anxiety symptoms and anxiety-related interventions in children with ASD. A total of 134 children with ASD aged 6-15 years were included and underwent tests to assess ASD severity and intelligence quotient. Children’s caregivers completed the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), and Conners Parents Symptom Questionnaire (PSQ). Data were analyzed predominantly using linear regressions and multiple mediation analysis, adjusting for the covariates. The screening rate of anxiety disorder was 16% (N=21) in this study. There were associations of ASD symptoms with anxiety symptoms (b’=0.20~0.44, Ps<0.05) and behavioural problems (b’=0.21~0.46, Ps<0.05), and partial associations between anxiety symptoms and behavioural problems (b’=0.18~0.31, Ps<0.05). Panic disorder and school avoidance mediated the associations between ASD symptoms and behavioural problems with mediation proportions between 10.8%~21.6% (a=0.197~0.284, b=0.178~0.265, c’=0.242~0.468, Ps<0.05). Social and separation anxiety disorder suppressed the associations with mediation proportions between 15.8%~30.6% (a=0.216~0.437, b=-0.286~-0.243, c’=0.242~0.408, Ps<0.05). While most anxiety symptoms might mediate the associations between ASD symptoms and behavioural problems in children with ASD, symptoms of social and separation anxiety disorder suppressed the associations between social impairment and behavioural problems, suggesting that certain anxiety symptoms may stem from the development of social cognition and should be noted during early interventions for school-age children with ASD.
keywords: anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, behavioural problems, mediation analysis, school-age children