Abstract

Anxiety affects up to 40% of children and teenagers on the autism spectrum, but research into the individual differences, such as gender, that may impact how anxiety presents in individuals on the spectrum is scarce. There has been a lot of research into how anxiety presents in children who are not on the autism spectrum, with studies showing that overall anxiety is more likely to affect girls than boys. As anxiety can present differently in children on the spectrum, we can’t assume that the patterns of anxiety across girls and boys on the autism spectrum are the same as other children with anxiety who are not on the autism spectrum. Researchers at ACE therefore set out to find out more about how anxiety presents in children on the autism spectrum and whether gender differences exist so that we can identify and support children on the spectrum with anxiety better.

A study by researchers Ambrose, Adams, Simpson, and Keen (2020) looked at patterns of anxiety in 9 to 12-year-old girls and boys on the autism spectrum. Information about each child’s anxiety was provided by their parents through a questionnaire. The researchers found that overall, girls and boys on the autism spectrum had very similar patterns of anxiety, with one exception: Girls had more symptoms than boys related to the physical signs of anxiety, such as feeling shaky. This is different to the patterns of anxiety seen in children who are not on the autism spectrum, which indicate that girls have higher anxiety than boys across a wider range of anxiety types and symptoms.

This research highlights that anxiety is equally prevalent in both boys and girls on the autism spectrum, with little differences reported in the way anxiety presents across genders. The results also demonstrate the importance of researching how anxiety presents in children on the autism spectrum, as the patterns of anxiety may not be the same as children who are not on the spectrum. Parents are a valuable source of information in this research, and we are grateful for their support in helping us to better understand anxiety in children on the autism spectrum.

Citation

Ambrose, K. (2020, August 10). Anxiety and the autism spectrum: Are there gender differences? [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://autismresearchtalk.wordpress.com/2020/08/10/anxiety-and-the-aut…