State and trait anxiety in autistic children; Signs reported by autistic adults and parents of autistic children

Spielberger’s state-trait anxiety model is well-established in non-autistic individuals but has received limited attention in autism research. The model distinguishes between state anxiety, the transient feeling of elevated anxiety in response to a trigger, and trait anxiety, a person’s natural tendency towards anxiousness. The aim of this study was to explore the signs of state and trait anxiety in autistic children as reported by autistic adults recalling their childhood anxiety, and by parents reporting on their observations of their autistic child. Thirty-four autistic adults (aged > 18 yrs) and 37 parents of autistic children (aged 5–15 yrs) completed online questionnaires which asked them to describe signs of state and trait anxiety. Autistic adult and parent responses were coded independently using inductive content analysis and categories were then compared to identify similar and differing observations from each respondent group. Autistic adults most frequently described physical and/or cognitive signs of state and trait anxiety in their childhood, while parents tended to identify behavioural signs of their autistic child’s state anxiety. Several similarities between respondent groups were observed for categories detailing behavioural signs of state anxiety, but few between-group similarities were identified for categories of trait anxiety signs. For both state and trait anxiety, the most frequently coded categories by each respondent group described signs not identified by the other group. This highlights the difference of perspective from each group and emphasises the importance of involving multiple informants in the assessment of anxiety in autistic children. Additionally, the heterogeneity in descriptions of trait anxiety signs saw several participants from each respondent group identifying entirely unique signs that could not be grouped with other similar responses in a category. This indicates a broad range of trait anxiety signs that could be explored further in future research. • Autistic adults mostly described physical and/or cognitive signs of their childhood anxiety. • Parents tended to identify behavioural signs of their autistic child’s anxiety. • There was a small overlap in signs of anxiety reported by each informant group. • The differences in informants’ reported signs highlights the need for multiple perspectives.