INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 10 Program Schedule 02/17/2024 09:00 am - 10:15 am Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 10: Neurodevelopmental \| Congenital Conditions Final Abstract #76 Self-Reported Anxiety Survey Scores Correlate with Affiliation to Characters with Different Social Roles Depending on ASD diagnosis Arabella Peters, Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States Sarah Banker, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States Jadyn Trayvick, Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University, NY, United States Sarah Barkley, Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University, NY, United States Matthew Schafer, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States Xiaosi Gu, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States Jennifer Foss-Feig, Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sina, NY, United States Daniella Schiller, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States Category: Autism Spectrum Disorders/Developmental Disorders/Intellectual Disability Keyword 1: anxiety Keyword 2: autism spectrum disorder Keyword 3: social cognition Objective: Social communication helps us form relationships and understand our relation to others in social space. Individuals on the autism spectrum (ASD) often face challenges in adapting behavior to social contexts. ASD is highly comorbid with anxiety, yet their combined effect on social interactions across relationships is unclear. In the current study, we measured how adults with ASD affiliate to various characters occupying different roles by charting their responses to social interactions in a task modeled as a “choose your own adventure” game. We hypothesized that in ASD, those with high scores on self-reported anxiety surveys would affiliate less with characters. Participants and Methods: Sixty-six individuals with ASD (M_age=26.5 ± 7.8) as well as seventy-eight typically developing (TD) controls (M_age=29.8 ± 8.7) completed the Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale Avoidance domain (LSAS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait subscale (STAI-T) surveys prior to completing the task. Individuals received average avoidance subscale scores on LSAS and trait anxiety scores on the STAI-T, with higher values indicating higher levels of social or trait anxiety, respectively. Affiliative behavior with characters was measured throughout the task. Certain character interactions require picking one of two responses on trials that give an opportunity for affiliation, one being prosocial and the other less affiliative. These responses move the characters’ positions within a 2D “social space” framed by affiliation and power; their degree of affiliation can be measured by charting these movements. Bivariate Pearson’s correlations were calculated based on survey and mean affiliation scores. Results: Anxiety symptoms measured by the STAI-T were significantly negatively correlated with affiliation to the “boss” character in the ASD group (r=-.27, p=.031) but not the TD group (r=-.09, p=.45). Social anxiety symptoms measured by the LSAS were significantly negatively correlated with affiliation to a potentially socially powerful or “popular” character in the TD group (r=-.35, p=.002) but not the ASD group (r=-.22, p=.07); indicating that as anxiety symptoms rose, affiliation to the either the boss or “popular” character fell depending on the group. Anxiety symptoms measured by either survey did not correlate with power in any of the character roles for either group. Consistent with autism being a disorder of social interaction and highly comorbid with anxiety, there were mean differences between groups, with the ASD group being less affiliative and more anxious overall. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate moderate correlations between anxiety survey scores and degree of affiliation with specific character roles. While both characters hold intimidating roles that could discourage affiliative behavior in anxious individuals, anxiety in the ASD group related exclusively to “boss” affiliation. Conversely, in the TD group, anxiety correlated solely with affiliation toward the "popular" character. This finding suggests that individuals with ASD can recognize and develop anxiety around the explicit role of the boss character but have trouble delineating implicit social roles, such as popularity of peers. Further studies including information on real-life social and occupational success would be warranted to better understand the relationship between anxiety and affiliation in ASD.

Poster

02/17/2024
09:00 am - 10:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 10: Neurodevelopmental | Congenital Conditions

Final Abstract #76

Self-Reported Anxiety Survey Scores Correlate with Affiliation to Characters with Different Social Roles Depending on ASD diagnosis

Arabella Peters, Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States
Sarah Banker, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States
Jadyn Trayvick, Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University, NY, United States
Sarah Barkley, Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University, NY, United States
Matthew Schafer, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States
Xiaosi Gu, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States
Jennifer Foss-Feig, Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sina, NY, United States
Daniella Schiller, Department of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, United States

Category: Autism Spectrum Disorders/Developmental Disorders/Intellectual Disability

Keyword 1: anxiety
Keyword 2: autism spectrum disorder
Keyword 3: social cognition

Objective:

Social communication helps us form relationships and understand our relation to others in social space. Individuals on the autism spectrum (ASD) often face challenges in adapting behavior to social contexts. ASD is highly comorbid with anxiety, yet their combined effect on social interactions across relationships is unclear. In the current study, we measured how adults with ASD affiliate to various characters occupying different roles by charting their responses to social interactions in a task modeled as a “choose your own adventure” game. We hypothesized that in ASD, those with high scores on self-reported anxiety surveys would affiliate less with characters.

Participants and Methods:

Sixty-six individuals with ASD (M_age=26.5 ± 7.8) as well as seventy-eight typically developing (TD) controls (M_age=29.8 ± 8.7) completed the Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale Avoidance domain (LSAS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait subscale (STAI-T) surveys prior to completing the task. Individuals received average avoidance subscale scores on LSAS and trait anxiety scores on the STAI-T, with higher values indicating higher levels of social or trait anxiety, respectively. Affiliative behavior with characters was measured throughout the task. Certain character interactions require picking one of two responses on trials that give an opportunity for affiliation, one being prosocial and the other less affiliative. These responses move the characters’ positions within a 2D “social space” framed by affiliation and power; their degree of affiliation can be measured by charting these movements. Bivariate Pearson’s correlations were calculated based on survey and mean affiliation scores.

Results:

Anxiety symptoms measured by the STAI-T were significantly negatively correlated with affiliation to the “boss” character in the ASD group (r=-.27, p=.031) but not the TD group (r=-.09, p=.45). Social anxiety symptoms measured by the LSAS were significantly negatively correlated with affiliation to a potentially socially powerful or “popular” character in the TD group (r=-.35, p=.002) but not the ASD group (r=-.22, p=.07); indicating that as anxiety symptoms rose, affiliation to the either the boss or “popular” character fell depending on the group. Anxiety symptoms measured by either survey did not correlate with power in any of the character roles for either group. Consistent with autism being a disorder of social interaction and highly comorbid with anxiety, there were mean differences between groups, with the ASD group being less affiliative and more anxious overall.

Conclusions:

Findings demonstrate moderate correlations between anxiety survey scores and degree of affiliation with specific character roles. While both characters hold intimidating roles that could discourage affiliative behavior in anxious individuals, anxiety in the ASD group related exclusively to “boss” affiliation. Conversely, in the TD group, anxiety correlated solely with affiliation toward the "popular" character. This finding suggests that individuals with ASD can recognize and develop anxiety around the explicit role of the boss character but have trouble delineating implicit social roles, such as popularity of peers. Further studies including information on real-life social and occupational success would be warranted to better understand the relationship between anxiety and affiliation in ASD.