Developmental Paths to Anxiety in an Autism-Enriched Infant Cohort: The Role of Temperamental Reactivity and Regulation.
Mutluhan Ersoy, Tony Charman, Greg Pasco and 3 others
PMID 33037563WHAT IT FOUND
In infants with older siblings with ASD, more fearful and shy behaviour at 24 months was linked to more anxiety traits at 36 months.
Better self-regulation at 15 months was linked to less fearful behaviour at 24 months. This is a link, not tested cause.
Key findings
01Higher behavioural inhibition, which the paper measured as fear and shyness, at 24 months was associated with higher anxiety traits at 36 months.
02Higher effortful control, which the paper describes as attention shifting, sustained attention and inhibitory control, at 15 months was associated with lower behavioural inhibition at 24 months.
03Lower effortful control at 24 months was associated with higher anxiety and ASD symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The low-risk group was small, with 27 children, so the study could not compare whether the same links held in low-risk infants. The main models were estimated only in the high-risk group, so the findings may not apply to all infants. All measures were parent-reported, so a parent's own anxiety or experience with an older child with ASD may have influenced the ratings. The mediation analyses used anxiety and ASD symptoms measured at the same 36-month visit, so they cannot show which condition came first or that one causes the other. The study did not test an intervention, so it cannot say that improving self-regulation in late infancy reduces anxiety or ASD symptoms. Sensitivity analyses changed some associations when the high-risk and low-risk groups were combined or when cognitive ability was controlled, so the exact timing of some paths is not stable.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a toddler's fearful and shy behaviour causes anxiety or that improving self-regulation will prevent anxiety. The study measured associations in infants with older siblings with ASD and did not test an intervention. The mediation results also cannot show cause because anxiety and ASD symptoms were measured at the same age.