The association of quality of social relations, symptom severity and intelligence with anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders
Abstract
Limited quality of social relations, milder symptom severity and higher intelligence were shown to account for higher anxiety levels in autism spectrum disorders. The current study replicated and extended earlier findings by combining these three determinants of anxiety in autism spectrum disorders in one study. The sample consisted of 134 school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders, of whom 58 (43%) had a co-morbid anxiety disorder according to the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Parent version. In this sample, we tested associations between these determinants and anxiety univariately and multivariately to clarify the unique contribution of all determinants. Since we hypothesized that the association between limited quality of social relations and anxiety would be amplified by low symptom severity and/or high intelligence, we additionally tested for moderating effects. We found that higher anxiety levels were associated with a lower quality of social relations and lower symptom severity. In this mainly high-functioning sample, intelligence was not related to anxiety levels. No moderation effects were found. Since lower quality of social relations and lower symptom severity are associated with higher anxiety levels in children with autism spectrum disorders, therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing anxiety in autism spectrum disorders should pay attention to improving social relations, and presumably children with a lower symptom severity could benefit m…
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ASD subjects commonly present co-occurring symptoms that include anxiety and intellectual disability.
“Besides the core symptoms, ASD subjects commonly present co-occurring symptoms that include anxiety and intellectual disability 37, 38.”
From Autism-like social deficit generated by Dock4 deficiency is rescued by restoration of Rac1 activity and NMDA receptor function. (2021) · cites this paper as [38]
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Social Participation Among Young Adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder
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- Authors
- Eussen, M. L., Van Gool, A. R., Verheij, F., De Nijs, P. F., Verhulst, F. C., & Greaves-Lord, K.
- Affiliations
- Yulius (NL)
- Yulius Mental Health, the Netherlands
- Erasmus MC (NL)
- Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam/Sophia Children’s Hospital, the Netherlands
- Yulius Mental Health, the Netherlands; Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam/Sophia Children’s Hospital, the Netherlands
- ORCID
- Verhulst, Frank C
- Venue
- Autism
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-08-23
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 723-735
- ISSN
- 1362-3613 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7005
- OpenAlex
- W2097107846
- Cited by
- 68
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4
- FWCI
- 2.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Autism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, interpersonal relationships, symptom severity, intelligence, comorbid anxiety disorders, school-aged children, high-functioning autism, moderating effect, social skills intervention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Anxiety, Child, Child Development Disorders, Pervasive, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Severity of Illness Index, Social Behavior, Multivariate Analysis, Linear Models
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