Depression, Anxiety, and Hyperactivity in Youth with HFASD: A Replication and Extension of Symptom Level Differences in Self-Report Versus Parent Report.

The present study compared parent ratings to self-report ratings of depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, attention problems, and atypical behaviors in youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) and typically developing (TD) controls. Measures included parent and self-report forms from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-Second Edition (BASC-2), and self-report forms from the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC). Results across all five BASC-2 scales indicated parent ratings for the HFASD condition were significantly higher than HFASD self-ratings, and were significantly higher than parent and self-ratings from the TD condition.

Anxiety and depression in children with HFASDs: symptom levels and source differences.

The purpose of this study was to: (1) examine symptom levels of anxiety and depression in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) compared with matched control children using child self-reports and parent ratings; and (2) examine source differences within the two condition groups. An overall multivariate effect indicated significantly elevated depression and anxiety symptoms for children with HFASDs based on parent reports; however no significant between-group differences based on child self-reports. Within-condition source comparisons (parent vs.