Autism Traits, Sensory Over-Responsivity, Anxiety, and Stress: A Test of Explanatory Models

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 49; no. 1; pp. 98 - 112
• Main Authors: Amos, Georgina A., Byrne, Graeme, Chouinard, Philippe A., Godber, Timothy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.01.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Aged; Anxiety; Anxiety - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders; Australia - epidemiology; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic Disorder - epidemiology; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; College Science; Comorbidity; Correlation; Correlation analysis; Diagnosis; Environment; Family Characteristics; Feedback (Response); Female; Humans; Hyperesthesia - epidemiology; Male; Meta Analysis; Middle Aged; Models, Psychological; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Pediatrics; Periodicals; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Prevention; Prodromal Symptoms; Psychology; Public Health; Questionnaires; Sensory Integration; Social Behavior; Stimulation; Stimuli; Stress; Stress (Psychology); Stress Management; Stress Variables; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Structural equation modeling; Structural Equation Models; Suitability; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Test anxiety; Young Adult; Australia; Structural equation modelling; DASS-21; Sensory over-responsivity; Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire; Anxiety; BAPQ; Stress
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3695-6

The relationship between autistic traits, stress, and anxiety experienced by the general population was investigated using an adult sample that evaluated the suitability of three theoretical models proposed by Green and Ben-Sasson. Participants completed online questionnaires that were analysed using structural equation modelling and partial correlation analyses. Of the models tested, the model that proposed SOR and stress as mediators of the relationship between autistic traits and anxiety was able to explain the variance in the data better than the other models. Based on these findings, we suggest that sensory neutral environments should be considered for the prevention and management of anxiety and stress symptoms for people in the general population with higher levels of autistic traits.