Psychology (Functional Area: Clinical-Developmental)

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Associations of Age, Anxiety, Cognitive Functioning and Social Impairment with Aggression in Youth with Autism
(2022-12-14) Rinaldo, Ethan Jon; Perry, Adrienne
Previous research has indicated that aggression in children with autism is associated with anxiety, cognitive functioning, age, and social functioning although most samples only include parent-report measures and participants without intellectual disability. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationships between these variables and aggression in youth with autism in a large, cognitively diverse sample, with parent- and teacher-report measures, and a wide age range. I found that age and intellectual disability presence/severity had small positive relationships with teacher-measured aggression while anxiety and social impairment severity had strong relationships with aggression when measured by parents and teachers. In a regression analysis anxiety and social communication problems had the strongest positive relationships with aggression while social motivation problems had a negative relationship with aggression. These results indicate the importance of anxiety and social problems, particularly in social communication and motivation, when studying and treating aggression in youth with autism.