Interrelationship between insistence on sameness, effortful control and anxiety in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Mirko Uljarević, Amanda L Richdale, David W Evans and 2 others
PMID 28736608WHAT IT FOUND
Among 71 adolescents and young adults with autism, rigid sameness behaviours, lower self-control and anxiety moved together.
Each link was partly explained by the third. This does not show that treating one will change the others.
Key findings
01In 71 adolescents and young adults with ASD, higher insistence on sameness was associated with lower effortful control and higher anxiety, and anxiety was associated with lower effortful control.
02The association between effortful control and anxiety was partly mediated by insistence on sameness, with an indirect effect of b = -.06 and a 95% confidence interval of -.13 to -.02; insistence on sameness accounted for 29.7% of the total effect.
03The association between insistence on sameness and anxiety was partly mediated by effortful control, with an indirect effect of b = 1.62 and a 95% confidence interval of .59 to 3.24; effortful control accounted for 26.04% of the total effect.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show which variable causes or changes another. The sample was 71 adolescents and young adults with self-reported ASD and AQ-28 scores above the suggested cut-off, not necessarily a broader ASD population. All measures were self-report questionnaires, so common method variance and reporting bias are possible. The authors describe the findings as preliminary and say replication in a larger sample is needed. The sample was older adolescents and young adults, so the findings may not apply to younger children.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism. No other conflict statement is given in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that treating insistence on sameness or effortful control will reduce anxiety. The study measured associations at one time point, and the mediation analyses do not prove that changing one behaviour causes change in another.