How anxious do you think I am? Relationship between state and trait anxiety in children with and without ASD during social tasks

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) often exhibit increased anxiety, even in non-stressful
situations. We investigate general anxiousness (anxiety
trait) and responses to stressful situations (anxiety state) in
22 adolescents with ASD and 32 typically developing controls.
We measured trait anxiety with standardized self- and
parent-reported questionnaires. We used a Biopac system to
capture state anxiety via skin conductance responses, mean
heart rate and heart rate variability during high- and lowanxiety
tasks. Results reveal higher trait anxiety in adolescents
with ASD (p < 0.05) and no group difference in state
anxiety. Increased parent-reported trait anxiety may predict
decreased state anxiety during high-stress conditions.
Together, these findings suggest that higher trait anxiety
may result in dampened physical responses to stress.