Evaluation of the predictive ability of a screening instrument used to diagnose co-occurrence of anxiety in children with high-functioning autism.

Anxiety has shown to have a high co-occurrence in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but has been difficult to co-diagnose. This study analyzed the ability of the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) to predict positive ASD screenings of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Parents and children ages 8 to 18 years (N = 100) were screened for anxiety using the SCARED and autism using the SRS. Moderate correlation was found between parent-reported SCARED and positive screening of the SRS (r = .579), with weak correlation found in the child-reported SCARED (r = .105). LASSO regression was conducted to assess SCARED predictability of the SRS. Two of forty-one questions from the parent-reported SCARED significantly predicted a positive screening of the SRS. Age was a significant predictor of this association (OR = 1.141). The SCARED has shown significant predictability of positive screenings on the SRS in children with autism