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Self- vs Parent Reports of Generalised Anxiety Disorder Symptomatology in Mildly Impaired Girls with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Previous data have suggested that parents of boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may rate their sons’ generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) more severely than the boys do themselves. However, no reports have been published to date which examine this issue in a girls-only sample. This study investigated the extent and nature of mother–daughter agreement on ratings of GAD in a sample of 53 girls with an ASD with mild impairment, aged 6 to 17 years. Mothers rated their daughters’ GAD more severely than the girls did themselves, despite confounding effects from the girls’ medication and menarche status. Suggestions are made for the valid assessment of GAD in girls with an ASD.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the valued time and efforts by the participants in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Vicki Bitsika & Christopher F. Sharpley

  2. School of Science & Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Christopher F. Sharpley

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  1. Vicki Bitsika
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  2. Christopher F. Sharpley
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VB and CFS shared the conception, planning and development of the research. CFS analysed the data and VB drafted the manuscript. Both VB and CFS wrote the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Christopher F. Sharpley.

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Bitsika, V., Sharpley, C.F. Self- vs Parent Reports of Generalised Anxiety Disorder Symptomatology in Mildly Impaired Girls with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 1045–1055 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04339-9

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