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The Relationship Between Child Anxiety and the Quality of Life of Children, and Parents of Children, on the Autism Spectrum

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Abstract

Children on the autism spectrum experience high rates of anxiety but little is known about the impact of anxiety on child or parent quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between anxiety, autism characteristics, and QoL in children and their parents. Sixty-four parents of children on the spectrum completed questionnaires on their child’s autism characteristics, anxiety symptomatology, and both child (PedsQL) and parent QoL (WHOQoL-BREF). Parents of children with elevated anxiety reported lower child and parent QoL. Regression models highlight specific anxiety subscales as predictive of PedsQL school and emotional functioning but not of parent QoL. Anxiety symptomatology may be a significant factor contributing to specific aspects of QoL for children on the spectrum.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the children with autism and their families for giving their time to support this research study.

Funding

This study was not funded by any funding body. The authors acknowledge the financial support of an internal Griffith University Education and Professional Studies internship for assistance with data entry.

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  1. Autism Centre of Excellence, School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University, Messines Ridge Road, Mt Gravatt, Brisbane, QLD, 4122, Australia

    Dawn Adams, Megan Clark & Kate Simpson

  2. Griffith Institute of Educational Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

    Dawn Adams, Megan Clark & Kate Simpson

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DA conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, conducted the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript; MC participated in the interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript; KS participated in its design and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dawn Adams.

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Adams, D., Clark, M. & Simpson, K. The Relationship Between Child Anxiety and the Quality of Life of Children, and Parents of Children, on the Autism Spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 1756–1769 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03932-2

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