Parent-child concordance on anxiety and executive functioning: Influences of autistic traits and socioeconomic status

Presentation Type

Abstract

Faculty Advisor

Erin Kang

Access Type

Event

Start Date

25-4-2025 12:00 PM

End Date

25-4-2025 1:00 PM

Description

Parent and child reports of psychosocial constructs (e.g., anxiety, social functioning) often differ, suggesting that parent and children interpret behavior differently (Lerner et al., 2012; McMahon & Solomon, 2015). Autistic and non-autistic children report anxiety symptoms differently than parents (Kalvin et al., 2020), and parent-child agreement for executive functioning (EF) can range from poor (Kenworthy et al., 2021) to moderate (Taylor et al., 2022). However, it is underexplored if child (autistic traits [AT]) and contextual (socioeconomic status [SES]) may influence parent/child agreement for EF and anxiety (Martel, 2013; Sutin et al., 2022; Lindqvist Bagge et al., 2025, Cohen et al., 2025). Autistic and non-autistic youth ages 11-17 and their parents completed measures of anxiety (MASC-2; March, 2012 & ASC-ASD; Rodgers et al., 2016) and EF (BRIEF-2; Gioia et al,. 2015). AT was determined by ADOS-2 (Lord et al., 2012). SES was grouped on annual income. Fisher’s r-to-z transformations compared parent/child correlations of EF/anxiety, and moderation examined influences of AT and SES. Parent/child correlations did not differ for anxiety or EF and AT did not moderate parent-child agreement. SES significantly moderated parent and child anxiety scores (F(3, 32)=9.21, p<.001; F(3, 32)=3.82, p=.02, respectively), with better agreement in higher SES. While parents and children generally agree on anxiety/EF challenges, SES may impact agreement on anxiety levels. Notably, AT does not appear to affect this concordance, highlighting the importance of contextual factors (SES) for understanding anxiety and may shape how anxiety is perceived/reported. This study underscores the importance of multi-informant assessments.

Comments

Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.

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Apr 25th, 12:00 PM Apr 25th, 1:00 PM

Parent-child concordance on anxiety and executive functioning: Influences of autistic traits and socioeconomic status

Parent and child reports of psychosocial constructs (e.g., anxiety, social functioning) often differ, suggesting that parent and children interpret behavior differently (Lerner et al., 2012; McMahon & Solomon, 2015). Autistic and non-autistic children report anxiety symptoms differently than parents (Kalvin et al., 2020), and parent-child agreement for executive functioning (EF) can range from poor (Kenworthy et al., 2021) to moderate (Taylor et al., 2022). However, it is underexplored if child (autistic traits [AT]) and contextual (socioeconomic status [SES]) may influence parent/child agreement for EF and anxiety (Martel, 2013; Sutin et al., 2022; Lindqvist Bagge et al., 2025, Cohen et al., 2025). Autistic and non-autistic youth ages 11-17 and their parents completed measures of anxiety (MASC-2; March, 2012 & ASC-ASD; Rodgers et al., 2016) and EF (BRIEF-2; Gioia et al,. 2015). AT was determined by ADOS-2 (Lord et al., 2012). SES was grouped on annual income. Fisher’s r-to-z transformations compared parent/child correlations of EF/anxiety, and moderation examined influences of AT and SES. Parent/child correlations did not differ for anxiety or EF and AT did not moderate parent-child agreement. SES significantly moderated parent and child anxiety scores (F(3, 32)=9.21, p<.001; F(3, 32)=3.82, p=.02, respectively), with better agreement in higher SES. While parents and children generally agree on anxiety/EF challenges, SES may impact agreement on anxiety levels. Notably, AT does not appear to affect this concordance, highlighting the importance of contextual factors (SES) for understanding anxiety and may shape how anxiety is perceived/reported. This study underscores the importance of multi-informant assessments.