title: Measuring anxiety as a treatment endpoint in youth with autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Despite the high rate of anxiety in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), measuring anxiety in ASD is fraught with uncertainty. This is due, in part, to incomplete consensus on the manifestations of anxiety in this population. Autism Speaks assembled a panel of experts to conduct a systematic review of available measures for anxiety in youth with ASD. To complete the review, the panel held monthly conference calls and two face-to-face meetings over a fourteen-month period. Thirty eight published studies were reviewed and ten assessment measures were examined: four were deemed appropriate for use in clinical trials, although with conditions; three were judged to be potentially appropriate, while three were considered not useful for clinical trials assessing anxiety. Despite recent advances, additional relevant, reliable and valid outcome measures are needed to evaluate treatments for anxiety in ASD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Nisonger Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lecavalier
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Alycia K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Halladay
authors.forename: Nancy E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Aman
authors.forename: Edwin H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Benjamin L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Handen
authors.forename: Bryan H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hallett
authors.forename: Katherine Anne
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grondhuis
authors.forename: Somer L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Horrigan
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scahill
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome