Examination and validation of a measure of anxiety specific to children with autism spectrum disorders.

ANXIETY; AUTISM; STATISTICAL correlation; DISCRIMINANT analysis; RESEARCH evaluation; SCALE analysis (Psychology); SCALES (Weighing instruments); COMORBIDITY; INTER-observer reliability; RESEARCH methodology evaluation; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics

Objective: Investigated the use of a combined scale (Worry/Depressed and Avoidant scales) from the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbidity for Children ( ASD-CC) as a measure of anxiety. Alternative methods of measuring anxiety were examined using the ASD-CC in an ASD population. Methods: Participants included 147 children, age 2-16 years, evincing a mixture of behavior problems. Comparisons between scores on the ASD-CC and Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition ( BASC-2) were examined to determine the most efficacious method of measuring anxiety and to establish convergent and discriminant validity. Results: The worry/depressed subscale was the most effective subscale of the ASD-CC to measure anxiety with proven incremental validity over the combined scale. Conclusion: The worry/depressed subscale is the best measure of anxiety utilizing the ASD-CC in children with an ASD. Additionally, convergent and discriminant validity was demonstrated by comparing the scale with similar and dissimilar scales of the BASC-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]