title: Brief report: The assessment of anxiety in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Anxiety may exacerbate interpersonal difficulties and contribute to secondary behavioral problems in adolescents with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD). This study was conducted to assess the psychometric properties and construct validity of measures of anxiety with a sample (n = 30) of adolescents with HFASD and comorbid anxiety disorders. Results indicate that the measures (CASI-Anxiety Scale; Sukhodolsky et al. 2008; MASC; March 1998) possess acceptable internal consistency, and there is evidence of discriminant validity. Most of the adolescents, however, under-reported problems with anxiety, compared to parent-reported and clinician-derived reports and given they were seeking treatment for anxiety problems. Findings highlight the importance of using multiple raters in clinical practice and consideration of rater discrepancies in clinical research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 109 Williams Hall 0436, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. sww@vt.edu
authors.forename: Susan W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Amie R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Schry
authors.forename: Brenna B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Maddox
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires