Assessing Anxiety in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth: Validation of the German Parent Version of the Anxiety Scale for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Magdalena Gruner, Veit Roessner, Melanie Ring
PMID 40841987WHAT IT FOUND
The German parent-report anxiety scale for autistic youth reliably identifies anxiety symptoms, with half of the autistic group scoring above clinical cut-offs.
However, the scale's original four-part structure did not hold up, as the separation anxiety component failed to replicate in this sample.
Key findings
01The German version of the parent-report anxiety scale showed excellent internal consistency and reliable scores across the entire sample and both groups.
02Fifty percent of the autistic youth and forty-one percent of the non-autistic youth met the primary cut-off for clinically significant anxiety symptoms.
03The original four-factor structure of the scale was not fully replicated, specifically because the separation anxiety subscale could not be identified in this German sample.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The non-autistic comparison group included youth with suspected autism diagnoses, which makes the distinction between the two groups less clear. The study relied entirely on parent reports, which can be biased or inaccurate when assessing internal emotional states. The validation was compared against standard tools (CBCL, SDQ) that were not originally designed for autistic populations, potentially limiting the assessment of convergent validity. The factor structure did not fully replicate the original English version, particularly regarding separation anxiety, suggesting the scale may need revision for German-speaking contexts.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Stiftung Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the scale's four subscales are all equally valid. The separation anxiety subscale failed to replicate in this German sample, so using it to diagnose separation anxiety in these patients would be unsupported by this data.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →