Parental broader autism phenotype and its association with adolescent social anxiety
TL;DR
Findings should be interpreted cautiously and considered hypothesis-generating rather than confirmatory, due to the cross-sectional design, reliance on questionnaire-based measures, and potential shared-informant bias, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and considered hypothesis-generating rather than confirmatory.
Abstract
Objective: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) share overlapping social-cognitive features. The broader autism phenotype (BAP), reflecting subclinical autistic traits in parents, may be relevant in understanding adolescent social anxiety within a family context. This study aimed to examine the association between parental BAP traits and social anxiety severity in adolescents. Materials and Methods: In this study, 109 adolescents with SAD (aged 11–17 years, 79.8% female) and their parents (109 mothers and 109 fathers) were included. Adolescents completed the Social Anxiety Disorder Severity Scale–Child Version, while parents completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), used as a secondary exploratory measure of social functioning. Non-parametric analyses and binary logistic regression were performed. Results: Greater SAD severity was associated with lower paternal AQ scores (ρ=–0.29, p=0.002). In addition, adolescents in the higher-severity SAD group had significantly higher SRS scores compared to those in the lower-severity group (p=0.003). Conclusion: Parental BAP traits, particularly paternal autistic traits, may be associated with social anxiety severity in adolescents. However, due to the cross-sectional design, reliance on questionnaire-based measures, and potential shared-informant bias, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and considered hypothesis-generating rather than confirmatory.