Anxiety in autistic preschool children: Phenomenology and a network analysis of correlates

Vasa, Roma A.; Kerns, Connor M.; Singh, Vini; McDonald, Rachel G.; Jang, Yeon Sik; Keefer, Amy

doi:10.1002/aur.2968

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Evidence suggests that comorbidity between neurodevelopmental disorders and various forms of psychopathology may be underpinned by shared genetic and environmental risk factors [ 18 , 37 , 45 ]. There is further evidence, at least in the case of hyperkinetic and anxiety disorders, that comorbidity between pervasive developmental disorders and other forms of psychopathology may be underpinned by common, mutually reinforcing “bridge” symptoms [ 18 , 46 ]. However, to our knowledge, no other network analysis has observed conditional associations between developmental disorders and externalising (conduct) disorders, despite such comorbidities being reported in the broader literature [ 24 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cumulative comorbidity between neurodevelopmental, internalising, and externalising disorders in childhood: a network approach

Watkeys,

O’Hare,

Dean

et al. 2023

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Cumulative comorbidity of mental disorders is common, but the extent and patterns of comorbid psychopathology in childhood are not well established. The current study aimed to elucidate the emergent patterns of cumulative mental disorder comorbidity in children using network analysis of diagnoses recorded between birth and age 12 years. Participants were 90,269 children (mean age 12.7 years; 51.8% male) within the New South Wales Child Development Study (NSW-CDS)—a longitudinal record-linkage cohort study of Australian children born in NSW between 2002 and 2005. Binary indicators for eight types of mental disorder were derived from administrative health records. Patterns of conditional association between mental disorders were assessed utilising network analysis. Of 90,269 children, 2268 (2.5%) had at least one mental disorder by age 12 years; of the 2268 children who had at least one mental disorder by age 12 years, 461 (20.3%) were diagnosed with two or more different disorders out of the eight disorder types included in analyses. All disorders were either directly or indirectly interconnected, with childhood affective and emotional disorders and developmental disorders being most central to the network overall. Mental disorder nodes aggregated weakly (modularity = 0.185) into two communities, representative of internalising and externalising disorders, and neurodevelopmental and sleep disorders. Considerable sex differences in the structure of the mental disorder comorbidity networks were also observed. Developmental and childhood affective and emotional disorders appear to be key to mental disorder comorbidity in childhood, potentially reflecting that these disorders share symptoms in common with many other disorders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cumulative comorbidity between neurodevelopmental, internalising, and externalising disorders in childhood: a network approach

Watkeys,

O’Hare,

Dean

et al. 2023

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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“…Children and adolescents with ASD also experience subclinical anxiety, up to 81.4% (Vasa & Mazurek, 2015;Wijnhoven et al, 2018). The clinical and subclinical symptoms of anxiety can exacerbate the core behaviours of children with ASD (Zaboski & Storch, 2018) and negatively affect their ability to socially interact with peers, teachers and family members (Chang et al, 2012;Hunsche et al, 2022;Vasa et al, 2023). Most research exploring the comorbidity of ASD and anxiety has been conducted from the parent's perspective, with the experience of teachers receiving little attention (Adams et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding teachers' responses to anxiety in children with autism at elementary schools and preschools

González,

Spencer Contreras,

Luciano

et al. 2023

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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A total of 40% of children with ASD have clinical symptoms of anxiety. However, there is little research on how teachers respond to this type of behaviour in the classroom. This study aimed to compare teachers' responses towards the anxiety of students with ASD and to explore the relationship between these responses and their ASD awareness and emotional regulation strategies. A quantitative study was conducted using a non‐probabilistic sample of 139 Cuban teachers from primary schools and preschools. The results indicate that teachers responses towards the anxiety of students with ASD vary in relation to age, experience in inclusive schools, specific training on educating students with ASD and teaching stage, as well as the type of anxiety. The findings also revealed that emotional regulation and knowledge about ASD had a significant impact on teachers' responses. Practical implications and future lines of research are discussed.

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Prevention and Reduction of Anxiety in Autistic Preschoolers Through an Autism-Specific Parent-Mediated Intervention: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating Short and Longer Term Outcomes

Adams,

Malone,

Dargue

et al. 2024

J Autism Dev Disord

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Anxiety is a common co-occurring condition for autistic preschoolers. Whilst there has been extensive research evaluating anxiety prevention/reduction interventions for neurotypical preschoolers, such research is limited for autistic children. Fifty-seven parents of autistic 4–5-year olds, with varying levels of anxiety, participated in a randomised controlled trial of an autism-specific, parent-mediated intervention (CLK-CUES) to prevent or reduce anxiety in autistic preschoolers. Baseline, short-term (post-intervention) and longer term (12 months follow-up) assessments included child anxiety (ASC-ASD-P and PAS-R), intolerance of uncertainty, and parent well-being. (Trial registration ACTRN12620001322921). There were no reports of harmful effects of the intervention or trial. Linear mixed models show a significant group x time interaction for ASC-ASD-P Total score and the Uncertainty subscale with medium and large effect sizes. Post-hoc analyses show a significant decline for only the intervention group in anxiety (specifically, anxiety around uncertainty) from pre-post intervention, maintained at one year follow-up. There was no change on the PAS-R or other ASC-ASD-P subscales. CLK-CUES shows promise as a way to prevent and reduce anxiety in young autistic children, specifically anxiety related to uncertainty. Trials with larger samples are warranted. Findings also highlight the importance of using measures designed for autistic children.

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Anxiety in autistic preschool children: Phenomenology and a network analysis of correlates

Cited by 5 publications

References 66 publications

Cumulative comorbidity between neurodevelopmental, internalising, and externalising disorders in childhood: a network approach

Cumulative comorbidity between neurodevelopmental, internalising, and externalising disorders in childhood: a network approach

Understanding teachers' responses to anxiety in children with autism at elementary schools and preschools

Prevention and Reduction of Anxiety in Autistic Preschoolers Through an Autism-Specific Parent-Mediated Intervention: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating Short and Longer Term Outcomes

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