title: Self-reported social skills impairment explains elevated autistic traits in individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder.
abstract: Screening for autism in individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD) is complicated by symptom overlap between GSAD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We examined the prevalence of self-reported autistic traits within a sample of participants with a diagnosis of GSAD (n=37) compared to individuals without a GSAD diagnosis (NOSAD; n=26). Of the GSAD sample participants, 70.84% self-reported autistic traits above a cut-off of 65 on the Autism Quotient-Short (AQ-S) and reported significantly more autistic traits on 3 of 5 AQ-S subscales compared to the NOSAD group. Diagnosis uniquely predicted variation in the social skills subscale above and beyond the other subscales and other predictors. Furthermore, variation in the social skills subscale largely explained group differences on the other subscales. Our results suggest caution in utilizing measures like the AQ-S with clinical populations characterized by social difficulties such as individuals with a GSAD diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States. Electronic address: Natasha.Tonge@wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Natasha A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Tonge
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States. Electronic address: rodebaugh@wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Rodebaugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States.
authors.forename: Katya C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States.
authors.forename: Michelle H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D066107:Social Skills; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Assessment; Measurement; Social anxiety; Theory of mind