title: Are Generalized Anxiety and Depression Symptoms Associated with Social Competence in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder?
abstract: Generalized anxiety and depression symptoms may be associated with poorer social outcomes among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability. The goal of this study was to examine whether generalized anxiety and depression symptoms were associated with social competence after accounting for IQ, age, and gender in typically developing children and in children with ASD. Results indicated that for the TD group, generalized anxiety and depression accounted for 38% of the variance in social competence and for children with ASD, they accounted for 29% of the variance in social competence. However, only depression accounted for a significant amount of the variance. The findings underscore the importance of assessing the social impact of internalizing symptoms in children with ASD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada. khj@sfu.ca.
authors.forename: Krista Haley Smith
authors.initials: KHS
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Iarocci
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D066107:Social Skills
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Depression; Generalized anxiety disorder; Social competence; Social outcomes