Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department/Program
Psychology
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Carrie Masia Warner
Committee Member
Erin Kang
Committee Member
Paul Amrhein
Committee Member
Gili Segall
Abstract
Anxiety symptoms are prevalent among autistic youth but frequently get overlooked due to issues of diagnostic overlap and atypical presentations of anxiety (Kerns et al., 2014; Wood & Gadow, 2010). Emerging literature suggests that cognitive differences specific to autism, such as cognitive inflexibility, may be associated with vulnerability of developing and maintain anxiety symptoms (Stark et al., 2021). Cognitive flexibility (CF), the ability to shift thinking and attention according to situational demands, is thought to be impaired in many autistic children, given the behavioral rigidity observed in this population (Geurts et al., 2009). However, further work is needed to tease apart the relationship between CF and anxiety to investigate key risk factors and beneficial treatment targets for autistic youth. The current study used a multi-method approach to measure CF, using survey measures and task switching measures, with aims to investigate the associations between the different constructs of CF and anxiety in a sample of 40 autistic youth (8-17 years). Anxiety symptoms were measured by autism-specific parent- and self-report measures of anxiety. Multiple regression analyses revealed real-world inflexibility to be a significant predictor of overall anxiety and uncertainty-related anxiety, across informant reports, above and beyond autism severity. Task switching difficulties, however, were not associated with increased anxiety. Our findings are consistent with current literature suggesting the role of real-world inflexibility in anxiety vulnerability in autism. The current study also offers preliminary support for the distinction between real-world CF and performance-based CF with regards to their relations with anxiety among autistic youth. Findings may help inform targeted treatment approaches for this vulnerable population.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Mahmud, Farah, "Exploring the Relationship between Cognitive Inflexibility and Anxiety in Youth on the Autism Spectrum" (2024). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1453.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1453