Relationships between autism spectrum disorder and intolerance of uncertainty.
Roma A Vasa, Nicole L Kreiser, Amy Keefer and 2 others
PMID 29316350WHAT IT FOUND
Youth with autism showed higher intolerance of uncertainty than typical peers.
Emotional dysregulation was the only autism feature that predicted this trait after accounting for anxiety. This suggests targeting emotion regulation may help manage distress in uncertain situations.
Key findings
01Children with ASD had significantly higher parent and child reports of intolerance of uncertainty compared to typically developing controls.
02Emotional dysregulation predicted intolerance of uncertainty even when controlling for anxiety, whereas social communication deficits and repetitive behaviors did not in the full model.
03Intolerance of uncertainty was moderately correlated with anxiety in youth with ASD.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used a cross-sectional design, so it cannot determine if emotional dysregulation causes intolerance of uncertainty or vice versa. The sample size was relatively small, which increases the risk of missing true effects. The typically developing control group had higher verbal IQ scores than the ASD group, although IQ was controlled for in the analysis. The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale was modified for this study and is not validated for youth with ASD. The anxiety measures used were DSM-based and may not capture atypical anxiety presentations common in ASD. A significant portion of the variance in intolerance of uncertainty remained unexplained by the variables measured.
Declared interests
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that treating anxiety will automatically reduce intolerance of uncertainty in youth with ASD. The study found that emotional dysregulation, not anxiety, was the primary driver of intolerance of uncertainty when all factors were considered together.