Abstract

Background Both self-regulation and insistence on sameness (IS) are related to anxiety, which is a common feature of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we aimed to characterise the IS-self-regulation-anxiety interrelationship by investigating the potential contribution made by self-regulation, assessed via effortful control (EC), to the IS-anxiety relationship in a sample of adolescents and young adults with ASD. Method Seventy-one older adolescents and younger adults with ASD (49 males, 22 females; M age = 18.71 years, SD = 2.51, range 14.42–24.81) completed the Adult Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2, Effortful Control Scale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire and the DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales. Results IS was associated with both EC (r = −.39, p = .001) and anxiety (r = .45, p

Citation

Uljarević, M., Richdale, A.L., Cai, R.Y., Evans, D.W., Leekam, S.R. (2017). Interrelationship between insistence on sameness, effortful control and anxiety in adolescents and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Molecular Autism, 8(36). DOI: 10.1186/s13229-017-0158-4.