title: Social anxiety predicts aggression in children with ASD: clinical comparisons with socially anxious and oppositional youth.
abstract: The present study examined the degree to which social anxiety predicts aggression in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD, n = 20) compared to children with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD, n = 20) or with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD, n = 20). As predicted, children with HFASD reported levels of humiliation/rejection fears commensurate with children with SAD and exhibited aggression at levels commensurate with ODD/CD, and a curvilinear relationship between social fears and aggression was found in the HFASD group only. Results indicate the possibility of an optimal level of social-evaluative fears that is unique for children with HFASD; too little social fear or too much may contribute to problems with aggression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic State Institute and University, 109 Williams Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA. CPugliese@vt.edu
authors.forename: Cara E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pugliese
authors.forename: Bradley A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Susan W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Ollendick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*