Discrepancies between parent and child ratings of anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder

Kalvin, Carla; Marsh, Carolyn L.; Ibrahim, Karim; Gladstone, Theresa R.; Woodward, Diana W.; Grantz, Heidi; Ventola, Pamela; Sukhodolsky, Denis G.

doi:10.1002/aur.2220

Cited by 35 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(86 reference statements)

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“…The mean ratings of anxiety and impairment from both parents are in line with the diagnostic interview and this is worth noticing, as the scores from the fathers can be considered more independent of the interview. All informants have scores in the same direction, although not all reach statistical significance, and in line with previous literature ( 55 ), the children report lower levels of anxiety compared to the parents. These patterns of parent and child ratings could result from children with ASD and comorbid anxiety having difficulty in reporting their anxiety while the parents are more aware of them.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Partial remission is a tentative definition of the increased occasional use of language sometimes found in children treated for selective mutism also when using defocused communication and graded exposure in an especially designed home-and school based intervention for this condition ( 64 ). Furthermore, a majority had comorbid ADHD, and three of the ten children had a depressive episode, in line with a study showing that children with ASD and comorbid anxiety have more ADHD and other comorbid disorders compared to children with ASD and no anxiety disorder ( 55 ). The comorbidity did not seem to affect outcome in our study, as also shown in a recent study reporting no clear differential impact of co-occurring psychiatric disorders on response to anxiety treatment ( 65 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

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“Less stress”: a pilot study on a cognitive behavioral treatment program for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders

Oerbeck

Øvergaard

Attwood

et al. 2021

Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

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Background: Comorbid anxiety disorders are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but only a minority receives adequate treatment for anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety disorders. The objectives of the present pilot study were to test the feasibility of the CBT program "Less stress" for comorbid anxiety disorders in children with ASD and explore whether an improvement in diagnostic outcomes for anxiety disorders and symptoms of anxiety was found after treatment. Method: Participants were ten children diagnosed with ASD and anxiety disorders (eight boys, mean age = 9.5 years, range 8 -12 years). The "Less Stress" program includes three months of weekly treatment sessions followed by three monthly booster sessions. Five therapists participated. A standardized semi-structured diagnostic interview with the mothers was used to assess comorbid disorders. Child anxiety symptoms were measured with the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). Results: The therapists found the manual easy to use but adaptations were necessary, particularly shorter sessions due to frequent (n = 7) comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. The participants found the program useful and the parents noted that they had learned methods they could continue using after the end of the program.Eight of ten children completed the treatment. Seven of the eight completers benefited from the program. Five of those seven children were free from all anxiety disorders, while two had fewer anxiety disorders. On a group level, a significant mean reduction of anxiety symptoms (RCADS) was found after treatment. Conclusions: The therapists found the "Less stress" program to be a feasible intervention in a sample of children with ASD and comorbid anxiety. The significant reduction of anxiety after treatment is promising, but a replication in a larger and more rigorous study is needed to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“Less stress”: a pilot study on a cognitive behavioral treatment program for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders

Oerbeck

Øvergaard

Attwood

et al. 2021

Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

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“…The finding may be accounted for by several reasons. First, interrater disagreement has been welldocumented in youth with (Kalvin et al, 2020) and without (Dirks et al, 2014) ASD and may explain, in part, why differences did not emerge in Child stress. Parentchild agreement has been associated with better youth outcomes (e.g., anxiety; Burrows et al, 2018) and highlights the importance of understanding multiple perspectives.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID‐19 on stress, anxiety, and coping in youth with and without autism and their parents

et al. 2021

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In the wake of COVID‐19, the world has become a more uncertain environment—a breeding ground for stress and anxiety, especially for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study examined stress, anxiety, and coping in a data‐driven, real‐time assessment of 122 youth with and without ASD and their parents at the height of the COVID‐19 shutdown and three‐months later. Standardized measures were administered to ascertain stress and coping explicitly related to the pandemic (RSQ COVID‐19‐Child [self‐report], Adult [self‐report from the guardian of youth], Parent [report about child]) and anxiety (STAI‐C, STAI‐A). Multivariate, univariate analyses of variance and hierarchical regression were used. ASD youth endorsed more Trait anxiety and response to specific stressors (e.g., virus). Caregivers of youth with ASD (Adults) self‐reported higher anxiety, yet scores were elevated for both groups. Adults of youth with ASD reported more stress, especially related to the virus, access to healthcare, and concern for the future. In the TD group, youth and adults used more Primary and Secondary Control Coping whereas ASD youth and adults used more Disengagement Coping. Adult stress was the primary predictor of parent perception of child stress as well as Child self‐reported stress. While the ASD group was consistently high compared to the TD group, there were no significant changes over time for stress or anxiety. Results reveal striking differences in youth with ASD and their parents regarding stress, anxiety, and coping. Findings highlight the need for essential support, access to services, and strategies to enhance psychological and emotional well‐being. Lay Summary This study examined stress, anxiety, and coping related to the COVID‐19 pandemic in 61 youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 61 youth with typical development (TD) and their parents. Results showed that ASD youth reported more anxiety and stress. Adults of youth with ASD indicated higher self‐reported anxiety and stress than adults of TD youth. TD youth and their parents reported using more adaptive coping strategies. Findings highlight the need for strategies to enhance psychological and emotional well‐being.

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“…One explanation for these discrepancies could be the instruments themselves: poor psychometrics may lead to discrepant reports. However, the instruments used in these studies have been shown to have strong internal reliability (Spence, 1998;Klassen et al, 2006;Kalvin et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…But, there are also constructs where the parent and child reports of the child's experiences do not match. For example, Kalvin et al (2019) and Lagattuta et al (2012) did not find a significant correlation between parent and child reports of the child's level of anxiety (r = 0.02 and rs < 0.10, respectively; Lagattuta et al (2012) compare parent and child reports over multiple subscales). Likewise, parents of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder tended to underestimate (relative to the child report) their child's self-esteem and mental health and over-estimate their physical function (Klassen et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

How Closely Related Are Parent and Child Reports of Child Alexithymia?

2021

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Alexithymia is a subclinical trait involving difficulty describing and identifying emotions. It is common in a number of psychiatric conditions. Alexithymia in children is sometimes measured by parent report and sometimes by child self-report, but it is not yet known how closely related the two measures are. This is an important question both theoretically and practically, in terms of research design and clinical practice. We conducted a preliminary study to investigate this question in a sample of 6- to 11-year-old neurotypical children and their parents (N = 29 dyads). Parent and child reports were not correlated, and 93% of parents under-estimated their child’s level of alexithymia relative to the child’s self-report. Based on these results, we hypothesize that when asked to report on the child’s alexithymia, children and parents may not be reporting on the same phenomenon, and thus these two measures may not be interchangeable. These provocative findings, however, must be considered preliminary: our analyses were sufficiently powered to detect a strong relation between the two types of report had one existed, but our analyses were not sufficiently powered to distinguish between a small relation and no relation at all.

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Discrepancies between parent and child ratings of anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder

Cited by 35 publications

References 42 publications

“Less stress”: a pilot study on a cognitive behavioral treatment program for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders

“Less stress”: a pilot study on a cognitive behavioral treatment program for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders

The impact of COVID‐19 on stress, anxiety, and coping in youth with and without autism and their parents

How Closely Related Are Parent and Child Reports of Child Alexithymia?

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