I Have a Fear of Negative Evaluation, Get Me Out of Here! Examining Latent Constructs of Social Anxiety and Autistic Traits in Neurotypical and Autistic Young People.

This was a questionnaire study, not a treatment study, so it cannot show that reducing fear of negative evaluation improves social communication or anxiety. Only self-report was used, so the results depend on what students said about themselves and may not match clinician or parent observations. The two groups were measured with different autism scales: neurotypical students completed the AQ-28, while autistic students completed the SRS-S, so the comparison is not direct. Participants were mostly white, and the study did not collect socioeconomic status, so results may not generalise to more diverse groups. The autism sample did not include people with intellectual disability or complex co-occurring mental and physical health conditions, so findings may not apply across the autism spectrum. Questionnaires were completed during a new social transition, such as university or a residential summer school, which may have raised state anxiety. The study did not include a separate group with diagnosed social anxiety disorder, so it cannot compare autism, social anxiety, and other clinical groups directly.

Funding came from Widening Participation at the University of Bath, funded by the Office for Fair Access. No other conflicts of interest are reported.

Do not read the distinct fear of negative evaluation finding as proof that autistic social difficulties are caused by anxiety, or that treating anxiety will improve communication. This was a questionnaire study using self-report, and the groups did not complete the same autism measure.