Is reduced social competence a mechanism linking elevated autism spectrum symptoms with increased risk for social anxiety?

Objectives: Approximately 50% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develop comorbid social anxiety disorder, and this comorbidity predicts poorer treatment outcomes than either syndrome alone. ASD and social anxiety are both associated with reduced social competence as evidenced by diffic...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:British Journal of Clinical Psychology Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 129 - 146
Autores principales: Stark, Chani, Groves, Nicole B., Kofler, Michael J.
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Mar2023
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=161743478&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 161743478
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        01446657
        99B
      jtl: British Journal of Clinical Psychology
      issn: 01446657
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: Mar2023
      vid: 62
      iid: 1
      pid: 480
      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
    artinfo:
      ui:
        161743478
        159853034
        161743478
        161743478
        10.1111/bjc.12398
        161743478
      ppf: 129
      ppct: 17
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
      tig:
        atl: Is reduced social competence a mechanism linking elevated autism spectrum symptoms with increased risk for social anxiety?
      aug:
        au:
          Stark, Chani
          Groves, Nicole B.
          Kofler, Michael J.
        affil: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee Florida, , USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms
          Autism Spectrum Disorder Complications
          Social Behavior
          Social Anxiety Disorders Risk Factors
          Risk Assessment
          Human
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Secondary Analysis
          Male
          Female
          Child
          Adolescence
          Confidence Intervals
          Funding Source
          Child: 6-12 years
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Objectives: Approximately 50% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develop comorbid social anxiety disorder, and this comorbidity predicts poorer treatment outcomes than either syndrome alone. ASD and social anxiety are both associated with reduced social competence as evidenced by difficulties implementing fundamental social skills for successful social interactions, but it remains unclear whether reduced social competence reflects a mechanism that explains the increased risk for social anxiety associated with elevated autism spectrum symptoms. Design/Methods: To address this gap in the literature, the current study combined multi‐informant measures (child, parent and teacher report) with a sample of 194 children with and without psychiatric disorders (ages 8–13; 68 girls; 69% White/Non‐Hispanic). Autism spectrum traits, social competence and social anxiety symptoms were measured continuously. Results: Bias‐corrected, bootstrapped conditional effects modelling indicated that elevated parent‐reported autism spectrum symptoms predicted reduced teacher‐perceived social competence (β = −.21) and elevated child self‐reported social anxiety (β =.17); reduced social competence accounted for 20% of the autism/social anxiety link (indirect pathway β =.04, ER =.20), and reduced social competence also predicted higher social anxiety independent of autism symptoms (β = −.16; all 95% CIs exclude 0.0, indicating significant effects). Exploratory analyses suggested that these findings were driven primarily by autism spectrum social communication difficulties rather than restricted/repetitive behaviours/interests. Conclusions: The current findings are consistent with prior work implicating reduced social competence as a risk factor for the development of social anxiety among children with ASD, and extend prior work by demonstrating that this link is robust to control for mono‐informant/mono‐measure bias, age, sex, SES, majority/minoritized race/ethnicity status, clinical comorbidities, and item overlap across measures.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N