TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing treatment efficacy by examining relationships between age groups of children with autism spectrum disorder and clinical anxiety symptoms
T2 - Prediction by correspondence analysis
AU - Kim, Se Kang
AU - McKay, Dean
AU - Ehrenreich-May, Jill
AU - Wood, Jeffery
AU - Storch, Eric A.
PY - 2020/3/15
Y1 - 2020/3/15
N2 - Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental in nature and are frequently accompanied by anxiety. To fully assess treatment efficacy, we examined rates of anxiety symptom change by age groups following either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or treatment as usual (TAU). Methods: One hundred sixty-three children with ASD and ASD-related anxiety symptoms were randomly assigned to either CBT or TAU. Utilizing prediction by correspondence analysis (CA), we evaluated the age effect (defined in three groups; ages 6–9, 10–12, and 13–16) and the changes in correlations between age and anxiety severity levels over the course of treatment. Results: Significantly greater anxiety symptom reduction was associated with CBT compared with TAU across the three age groups. Of particular note, the children ages 10–12 who received CBT showed the greatest improvement compared to all other groups. Late childhood, prior to adolescence, showed the best response to CBT for anxiety in ASD. Discussion: These findings suggest that treatment programs need to more closely address developmental factors within narrower bands of age groups. The present results are limited in their generalization to the CBT efficacy for a specific age band (ages 10–12). Longitudinal investigations are recommended to confirm whether the similar age group children who receive CBT experience the greatest benefit in reducing their ASD-related anxiety symptoms.
AB - Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental in nature and are frequently accompanied by anxiety. To fully assess treatment efficacy, we examined rates of anxiety symptom change by age groups following either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or treatment as usual (TAU). Methods: One hundred sixty-three children with ASD and ASD-related anxiety symptoms were randomly assigned to either CBT or TAU. Utilizing prediction by correspondence analysis (CA), we evaluated the age effect (defined in three groups; ages 6–9, 10–12, and 13–16) and the changes in correlations between age and anxiety severity levels over the course of treatment. Results: Significantly greater anxiety symptom reduction was associated with CBT compared with TAU across the three age groups. Of particular note, the children ages 10–12 who received CBT showed the greatest improvement compared to all other groups. Late childhood, prior to adolescence, showed the best response to CBT for anxiety in ASD. Discussion: These findings suggest that treatment programs need to more closely address developmental factors within narrower bands of age groups. The present results are limited in their generalization to the CBT efficacy for a specific age band (ages 10–12). Longitudinal investigations are recommended to confirm whether the similar age group children who receive CBT experience the greatest benefit in reducing their ASD-related anxiety symptoms.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.107
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.107
M3 - Article
C2 - 31787421
AN - SCOPUS:85076093551
VL - 265
SP - 645
EP - 650
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
SN - 0165-0327
ER -