Friday, May 21, 2010
Franklin Hall B Level 4 (Philadelphia Marriott Downtown)
3:00 PM
Background: Anxiety symptoms are often co-occurring and debilitating conditions in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However little is known about the characteristics and severity of anxiety in siblings of children with ASD.
Objectives: The purpose of this investigation is to examine anxiety symptoms in a well-characterized sample of children with ASD and to determine if any anxiety symptoms are present in their siblings.
Methods: Participants included children with ASD, their siblings and neurotypical control children between the age of 3 and 12 years. Autism spectrum diagnosis was based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R) and expert clinical opinion. Parents completed several behavioral measures assessing anxiety symptoms including the Spence Children's Preschool Anxiety Scale (SCPAS) or Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the Early Childhood Inventory- 4 (ECI-4) or Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4), and the age appropriate version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc comparisons were performed to examine group differences on these parent report anxiety measures.
Results: To date, behavioral data on anxiety symptom measures have been collected on 22 children with ASD (mean age: 8.7 ± 2.0), 15 siblings (8.4 ± 2.1) and 20 controls (9.2 ± 1.8). When comparing these 3 groups, preliminary analyses revealed a significant main effect of group on the anxiety domains (F=1.978; p=.007). These findings were due to differences between the ASD and control groups and the ASD and sibling groups. There were significant differences between the groups on the SCPAS/ SCAS subscales total (F=7.547, p=.001) as well as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (F=7.776, p=.001), Injury Fears (F=5.594, p=.006), Separation Anxiety (F=6.156, p=.004) and Panic (F=4.788, p=.012) subscales. Dimensional scoring of the ECI-4 /CSI-4 revealed significant differences on Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (F=13.437, p<.001), Specific Phobia (F=7.119, p=.002), Compulsions (F=3.583, p=.035) and on the anxiety subscales total (F=12.870, p<.001). As expected the T-scores on all of the anxiety domains of the CBCL were also statistically significant including Anxiety Problems (F=14.721, p<.001), Anxious/Depressed (p=.008) and Obsessive Compulsive Problems (p=.001). In contrast, Social Anxiety domains on the SCAS/SCPAS and CSI-4/ECI-4 were not significant. Post hoc comparisons revealed that all these findings were due primarily to differences between the ASD and control groups and the ASD and sibling groups. No differences were observed between the sibling group and controls.
Conclusions: These preliminary data suggest that many anxiety symptom domains are elevated in a small sample of children with ASD when compared to control children. However, there appears to be no significant difference in anxiety symptoms in siblings of children with autism.
Objectives: The purpose of this investigation is to examine anxiety symptoms in a well-characterized sample of children with ASD and to determine if any anxiety symptoms are present in their siblings.
Methods: Participants included children with ASD, their siblings and neurotypical control children between the age of 3 and 12 years. Autism spectrum diagnosis was based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R) and expert clinical opinion. Parents completed several behavioral measures assessing anxiety symptoms including the Spence Children's Preschool Anxiety Scale (SCPAS) or Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the Early Childhood Inventory- 4 (ECI-4) or Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4), and the age appropriate version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc comparisons were performed to examine group differences on these parent report anxiety measures.
Results: To date, behavioral data on anxiety symptom measures have been collected on 22 children with ASD (mean age: 8.7 ± 2.0), 15 siblings (8.4 ± 2.1) and 20 controls (9.2 ± 1.8). When comparing these 3 groups, preliminary analyses revealed a significant main effect of group on the anxiety domains (F=1.978; p=.007). These findings were due to differences between the ASD and control groups and the ASD and sibling groups. There were significant differences between the groups on the SCPAS/ SCAS subscales total (F=7.547, p=.001) as well as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (F=7.776, p=.001), Injury Fears (F=5.594, p=.006), Separation Anxiety (F=6.156, p=.004) and Panic (F=4.788, p=.012) subscales. Dimensional scoring of the ECI-4 /CSI-4 revealed significant differences on Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (F=13.437, p<.001), Specific Phobia (F=7.119, p=.002), Compulsions (F=3.583, p=.035) and on the anxiety subscales total (F=12.870, p<.001). As expected the T-scores on all of the anxiety domains of the CBCL were also statistically significant including Anxiety Problems (F=14.721, p<.001), Anxious/Depressed (p=.008) and Obsessive Compulsive Problems (p=.001). In contrast, Social Anxiety domains on the SCAS/SCPAS and CSI-4/ECI-4 were not significant. Post hoc comparisons revealed that all these findings were due primarily to differences between the ASD and control groups and the ASD and sibling groups. No differences were observed between the sibling group and controls.
Conclusions: These preliminary data suggest that many anxiety symptom domains are elevated in a small sample of children with ASD when compared to control children. However, there appears to be no significant difference in anxiety symptoms in siblings of children with autism.