The Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty, Sensory Sensitivities, and Anxiety in Autistic and Typically Developing Children

Abstract

Guided by a recent theory that proposes fundamental differences in how autistic individuals deal with uncertainty, we investigated the extent to which the cognitive construct ‘intolerance of uncertainty’ and anxiety were related to parental reports of sensory sensitivities in 64 autistic and 85 typically developing children aged 6–14 years. Intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety explained approximately half the variance in autistic children’s sensory sensitivities, but only around a fifth of the variance in typical children’s sensory sensitivities. In children with autism only, intolerance of uncertainty remained a significant predictor of children’s sensory sensitivities once the effects of anxiety were adjusted for. Our results suggest intolerance of uncertainty is a relevant construct to sensory sensitivities in children with and without autism.

Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviour: Insights Directly from Young People with ASD

“…This analysis is supported by findings by Uljarevic, Carrington and Leekam (2015) who found evidence for a mediating effect of IU in the relation between sensory sensitivity and anxiety in mothers of children with ASD, and more recently has been supported by findings with children with ASD (Neil, Olsson & Pellicano, 2016). RRB may function as an attempt to cope with sensory-linked anxiety but this evidence is preliminary, using limited methods of investigation.…”

Sensory, Emotional and Cognitive Contributions to Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…This was also replicated and extended by Neil et al (2016), who included a large group of typically developing children. Parent-report scores were higher for the ASD than control group for sensory sensitivities, IU and anxiety scales.…”

“…They found significantly higher IUS-C and SCAS scores for ASD children and adolescents than a typical comparison group, a finding recently replicated by Neil et al (2016) with similarly large samples. Importantly, Boulter et al (2014) report a “causal mediational model” in which IU almost completely mediated the relationship between diagnostic group and anxiety scores.…”

“…Our model includes related ideas that have not yet received adequate research attention but may also provide explanatory power. For example, cognitive and behavioral rigidity may create enhanced uncertainty about whether exact rules will be followed, and may also be associated with repetitive and restricted behaviors (see e.g., Wigham et al, 2015; Neil et al, 2016). …”

Relationships between autism spectrum disorder and intolerance of uncertainty

“…In typically developing (TD) child and adult populations, IU has been tightly linked to various anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder [e.g., Carleton et al, ; Lee, Orsillo, Roemer, & Allen, ]. Existing data indicate that youth with ASD may have higher levels of IU compared to TD populations [e.g., Boulter, Freeston, South, & Rodgers, ; Chamberlain et al, ; Neil, Olsson, & Pellicano, ], and that IU may be related to the presence of co‐occurring anxiety. Some researchers have hypothesized that IU may be inherently associated with certain features of ASD and when present at high levels can increase risk for anxiety [Boulter et al, ].…”