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Failure is Not an Option: Risk-Taking is Moderated by Anxiety and Also by Cognitive Ability in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Understanding hetereogeneity in symptom expression across the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a major challenge for identifying causes and effective treatments. In 40 children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD and 37 IQ—and age-matched comparison participants (the TYP group), we found no differences in summary measures on an experimental risk-taking task. However, anxiety and IQ predicted risk-taking only in the ASD group. Risk-taking was correlated with behavioral inhibition in the ASD group and behavioral activation in the TYP group. We suggest that performance on the task was motivated by fear of failure in the ASD group and by sensitivity to reward in the TYP group. Behavioral markers of anxiety and cognitive ability may improve conceptualization of heterogeneity in ASD.

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Notes

  1. If a participant (n = 8) had completed the WISC-IV within the previous three years, we substituted the WISC-IV Verbal Comprehension Index and Perceptual Reasoning Index for the WASI VIQ and PIQ, and the comparable General Abilities Index for the FSIQ.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the statistical consultation of Scott Baldwin and Michael Larson; and the able assistance of Annahir Cariello, Oliver Johnston, Adrian Rockwell, Ryan Hunsaker, and Randy Gilliland. This work was supported by research grants from Brigham Young University, including the Family Studies Center; the College of Home, Family, and Social Sciences; and a Mentored Environment Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Brigham Young University, 245 TLRB, 1190 North 900 East, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Mikle South & Julianne Dana

  2. Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

    Mikle South & Sarah E. White

  3. Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Michael J. Crowley

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  1. Mikle South
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  2. Julianne Dana
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  4. Michael J. Crowley
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Correspondence to Mikle South.

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South, M., Dana, J., White, S.E. et al. Failure is Not an Option: Risk-Taking is Moderated by Anxiety and Also by Cognitive Ability in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 55–65 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1021-z

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