The Degree of Prevalence of Anxiety Symptoms Among a Sample of Verbal Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The current study aimed to describe the degree of prevalence of anxiety symptoms among a sample of verbal adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The study included 60 verbal adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in Riyadh City, the Kingdom Saudi Arabia. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers constructed anxiety symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder scale and verified its validity and reliability. The scale included 40 items distributed on 5 dimensions that describe the anxiety associated with autism spectrum disorder, which are the dimensions of physical and physiological symptoms, cognitive symptoms, social symptoms, emotional symptoms, and behavioral symptoms. To answer the study questions, a descriptive survey method was used, and the percentage of prevalence score on each item of the scale was calculated. The results indicated that the physical and physiological symptoms were moderate, while the cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral symptoms ranged from moderate to high. The study recommended comparing the prevalence of anxiety between females and males with autism spectrum disorder, and studying the prevalence rates of anxiety according to the level of severity of autism spectrum disorder.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/13367
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