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The Role of Sensory Features in Mediating Associations Between Autism Symptoms and Anxiety in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

To investigate possible correlates of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) in young males with ASD, a test of the mediation effects of sensory features (SF) upon the association between ASD symptoms and GAD was conducted with 150 males aged 6 to 18 years. GAD data were obtained from parents of the boys and from the boys themselves; SF and ASD data were obtained from parents. Symptoms of ASD were found to influence elevated levels of parent-rated GAD indirectly through greater levels of sensory avoiding, and auditory-specific sensory behaviours correlated with parent-rated anxiety more strongly than other sensory modalities. There were no significant effects for the boys’ self-rated GAD.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the young people with ASD and their parents who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Vicki Bitsika & Wayne A. Arnold

  2. Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2350, Australia

    Christopher F. Sharpley

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  1. Vicki Bitsika
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  2. Wayne A. Arnold
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  3. Christopher F. Sharpley
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Contributions

VB and CFS conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and drafted the manuscript; WAA participated in the design and interpretation of the data and performed the statistical analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Christopher F. Sharpley.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Bitsika, V., Arnold, W.A. & Sharpley, C.F. The Role of Sensory Features in Mediating Associations Between Autism Symptoms and Anxiety in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 2464–2474 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03917-1

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