The Association Between Social Cognition and Executive Functioning and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Matthew J Hollocks; Catherine R G Jones; Andrew Pickles; Gillian Baird; Francesca Happé; Tony Charman; Emily Simonoff

doi:10.1002/aur.1361

The Association Between Social Cognition and Executive Functioning and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Matthew J Hollocks, Catherine R G Jones, Andrew Pickles, Gillian Baird, Francesca Happé, Tony Charman, Emily Simonoff

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

108 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

While high levels of anxiety and depression are now recognized as major co-occurring problems in children and young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research examining possible associations with individual differences in neurocognitive functioning has been limited. This study included 90 adolescents with an ASD aged 14-16 years with a full-scale IQ > 50. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the independent relationships between multiple measures of executive functioning and social cognition on severity of anxiety or depressive symptoms. Results indicated a significant association between poorer executive functioning and higher levels of anxiety, but not depression. In contrast, social cognition ability was not associated with either anxiety or depression. This study is the first to report significant associations between executive functions and anxiety in ASD. This may suggest that poor executive functioning is one factor associated with the high prevalence of anxiety disorder in children and adolescents with ASD.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	216-228
Number of pages	13
Journal	Autism research
Volume	7
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1361
Publication status	Published - Apr 2014

Keywords

social cognition
anxiety
ASD
executive functions
neuropsychology
depression
PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
ATTENTIONAL CONTROL-THEORY
PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDERS
GENERALIZED ANXIETY
ASPERGERS SYNDROME
MAJOR DEPRESSION
ANIMATED SHAPES
STATE ANXIETY
MENTAL STATES
SPECIAL NEEDS

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10.1002/aur.1361

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title = "The Association Between Social Cognition and Executive Functioning and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders",

abstract = "While high levels of anxiety and depression are now recognized as major co-occurring problems in children and young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research examining possible associations with individual differences in neurocognitive functioning has been limited. This study included 90 adolescents with an ASD aged 14-16 years with a full-scale IQ > 50. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the independent relationships between multiple measures of executive functioning and social cognition on severity of anxiety or depressive symptoms. Results indicated a significant association between poorer executive functioning and higher levels of anxiety, but not depression. In contrast, social cognition ability was not associated with either anxiety or depression. This study is the first to report significant associations between executive functions and anxiety in ASD. This may suggest that poor executive functioning is one factor associated with the high prevalence of anxiety disorder in children and adolescents with ASD.",

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AU - Baird, Gillian

AU - Happé, Francesca

AU - Charman, Tony

AU - Simonoff, Emily

PY - 2014/4

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N2 - While high levels of anxiety and depression are now recognized as major co-occurring problems in children and young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research examining possible associations with individual differences in neurocognitive functioning has been limited. This study included 90 adolescents with an ASD aged 14-16 years with a full-scale IQ > 50. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the independent relationships between multiple measures of executive functioning and social cognition on severity of anxiety or depressive symptoms. Results indicated a significant association between poorer executive functioning and higher levels of anxiety, but not depression. In contrast, social cognition ability was not associated with either anxiety or depression. This study is the first to report significant associations between executive functions and anxiety in ASD. This may suggest that poor executive functioning is one factor associated with the high prevalence of anxiety disorder in children and adolescents with ASD.

AB - While high levels of anxiety and depression are now recognized as major co-occurring problems in children and young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research examining possible associations with individual differences in neurocognitive functioning has been limited. This study included 90 adolescents with an ASD aged 14-16 years with a full-scale IQ > 50. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the independent relationships between multiple measures of executive functioning and social cognition on severity of anxiety or depressive symptoms. Results indicated a significant association between poorer executive functioning and higher levels of anxiety, but not depression. In contrast, social cognition ability was not associated with either anxiety or depression. This study is the first to report significant associations between executive functions and anxiety in ASD. This may suggest that poor executive functioning is one factor associated with the high prevalence of anxiety disorder in children and adolescents with ASD.

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KW - neuropsychology

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KW - PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDERS

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KW - ANIMATED SHAPES

KW - STATE ANXIETY

KW - MENTAL STATES

KW - SPECIAL NEEDS

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ER -

The Association Between Social Cognition and Executive Functioning and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Keywords

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