Comorbid Symptoms in Children with Anxiety Disorders Compared to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been shown to be highly comorbid with other psychological disorders. Currently, there is a dearth of research examining how comorbidity impacts the assessment of core symptoms and co-occurring problem behaviors in children with ASD. The present study evaluated the rates of comorbid symptoms in children with ASD and children with anxiety disorders. Participants included 29 children with ASD, 25 children with anxiety disorders, and 31 children with no psychological disorder who served as the control group. Commonly co-occurring internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed with the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbidity for Children (ASD-CC). Multivariate and univariate main effect analyses with post-hoc comparisons were conducted on seven symptom subscales (tantrum behaviors, repetitive behaviors, worry/depressed symptoms, avoidant behaviors, under-eating, overeating, and conduct problems). Children with ASD evinced higher rates of comorbid symptoms than children with anxiety disorders. Additionally, both children with ASD and those with anxiety disorders exhibited more comorbid symptoms than children in the control group. Our findings support the importance of conducting broadband assessments for comorbid symptoms when evaluating children with atypical development. Implications of these findings will be discussed in the context of previous research.