Bridging the gap: unveiling key links between autism and anxiety symptoms in autistic children and youth using a network analysis in pooled data from four countries

Autistic children experience significantly higher rates of anxiety compared to nonautistic children. The precise relations between autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms remain unclear in this population. Previous work has explored associations at the domain level, which involve examining broad categories or clusters of symptoms, rather than the relationships between specific symptoms and/or individual characteristics. We addressed this gap by taking a network approach to understand the shared structure of autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms.

Citation:
Zaidman-Zait A, Hollocks MJ, Kerns CM, ……. Uljarevic M, Szatmari P. Bridging the gap: unveiling key links between autism and anxiety symptoms in autistic children and youth using a network analysis in pooled data from four countries. Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 2025;10.1111/camh.70026.

Keywords:
Autism spectrum disorders; anxiety; symptomatology

Abstract:
Autistic children experience significantly higher rates of anxiety compared to nonautistic children. The precise relations between autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms remain unclear in this population. Previous work has explored associations at the domain level, which involve examining broad categories or clusters of symptoms, rather than the relationships between specific symptoms and/or individual characteristics. We addressed this gap by taking a network approach to understand the shared structure of autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms.