COVID-19 Anxiety and Core Symptom Severity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study examines the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and the severity of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms in a sample of 48 children. Parents reported on their child's ASD symptoms using the SRS-2 and on their child's COVID-19 anxiety with a newly developed questionnaire. In addition, this study explores the possible moderating effect of general parental anxiety using the anxiety subscale of the BSI. Linear regressions per SRS-2 subscale revealed that a significant positive relationship exists between COVID-19 anxiety and the SRS-2 subscales of social cognition and social motivation, and that parental anxiety is not a significant moderator in any of the analyses.