Relationship Among Anxiety, Depression, and Family Impact in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Average-Range IQ

Little is known about how internalizing symptoms in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affect family outcomes, despite the high rates of internalizing disorders in ASD and the dynamic relationships among child, parent, and family variables. We evaluated the predictive value of internalizing symptoms in 69 adolescents with ASD and average-range cognitive abilities on family impact. In addition, we examined the correspondence between parent and child symptom ratings. Results indicated that internalizing symptoms predict family impact above IQ and externalizing symptoms. Depression (but not anxiety) predicted more positive family functioning, and parents rated more internalizing symptoms than adolescents. The results are contrary to our initial predictions, and we offer several explanations for this difference. Differences between parent and child ratings of internalizing symptoms are also explored.