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Association between Parenting Behaviors, Social Skills, and Anxiety in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

Hildebrand Jonovich, Sarah
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1182518785

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, Psychology.
Recent studies have suggested that youth diagnosed with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders often suffer from a higher rate of anxiety compared to the general population and youth with other psychological disorders (e.g., Green, Gilchrist, Burton, & Cox, 2000). One hypothesis may be that a child’s level of social skills directly affects his/her anxiety. However, there is little theoretical or empirical evidence that explains the development of anxiety within this population. Studies from the anxiety literature suggest that parental anxiety and parental behaviors (i.e., acceptance, control, and modeling of anxious behaviors) are associated with the development of child anxiety. In the current investigation of youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, it was hypothesized that high parental anxiety and low child social skills would be directly related to more symptoms of child anxiety. Further, it was expected that the relationship between parental anxiety and child anxiety would be partially mediated by parenting behaviors of low acceptance, high control, and high modeling of anxious behaviors in the parent-child relationship. Given that theory suggests that these parenting behaviors may in part be related to children’s perceptions of control and threat, it was hypothesized that parental acceptance and control would be mediated by the child’s perception of control when predicting child anxiety symptomatology. Furthermore, parental modeling of anxious behaviors would be mediated by child’s perception of threat when predicting childhood anxiety symptomatology. Participants were 62 children (50 males, 12 females) between the ages of 8 and 18 with a DSM-IV diagnosis of a high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and 43 primary caregivers of the children. Results partially supported the hypothesized model in explaining the development of childhood anxiety in a population with ASD but overall indices of fit suggested an inadequate fit of the data to the model. It is suggested that future research focus on better understanding the factors that contribute to high rates of anxiety within the ASD population, epidemiological studies to document the rate of comorbid anxiety and behavioral problems, and developing alternative models to understand anxiety symptoms in children with ASD.
Laura Seligman (Advisor)
77 p.
Psychology, Clinical
Autism Spectrum Disorders; Asperger's Disorder; anxiety; parenting factors; path analysis; social skills

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hildebrand Jonovich, S. (2007). Association between Parenting Behaviors, Social Skills, and Anxiety in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1182518785

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hildebrand Jonovich, Sarah. Association between Parenting Behaviors, Social Skills, and Anxiety in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2007. University of Toledo, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1182518785.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hildebrand Jonovich, Sarah. "Association between Parenting Behaviors, Social Skills, and Anxiety in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders." Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1182518785

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.