Relationship between anxiety and executive functioning among youth with Down syndrome.

The sample was predominantly White, non-Hispanic, and English-speaking, limiting generalizability to other cultural and linguistic groups. Anxiety diagnoses were based on parent report rather than clinical interviews or medical records, which may affect accuracy. Self-report of anxiety symptoms from the youth themselves was not included. The study used only two time points, which limits the ability to fully account for between-person variance in longitudinal models.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The research was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Do not assume that executive functioning deficits are the sole cause of anxiety or vice versa. The study shows a bidirectional relationship where each influences the other over time, and concurrent correlations were small to moderate, indicating these are largely independent constructs.