The Mediating Role of Social Interactions and Early Psychopathological Symptoms in the Relationship Between Empathy and Prosociality in Young Children with ASD and Neurotypical Peers.
Agnieszka Lasota
PMID 39460840WHAT IT FOUND
Anxious children with autism showed more prosocial behaviour than less anxious peers, while anxiety did not predict prosociality in neurotypical children.
Parents reported lower empathy and social interaction in children with autism, but similar levels of anxiety between groups.
Key findings
01Anxiety acted as a moderator in children with autism, with the link between empathy and prosocial behaviour being strongest at high levels of anxiety.
02Children with autism were rated by parents as having lower empathy and prosocial behaviour than neurotypical peers, but anxiety levels did not differ between the two groups.
03In neurotypical children, social interactions and externalising behaviours mediated the relationship between empathy and prosociality, whereas in children with autism, only internalising behaviours (anxiety) served as a significant mediator.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine causality or development over time. All data relied on parental reports, which may introduce bias or measurement error regarding the child's internal states. 14% of the ASD group were under 30 months and had not yet received a clinical diagnosis, potentially mixing high-risk and diagnosed children. The sample consisted only of Polish parents, limiting generalisability to other cultural contexts. No data on intelligence or language levels were available to control for broader developmental delays.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the finding that anxiety strengthens prosocial behaviour in ASD as evidence that inducing anxiety is a therapeutic strategy. The relationship is correlational and based on parent report, and the study does not demonstrate that anxiety causes better social outcomes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →