Anxiety in Williams Syndrome: The role of social behaviour, executive functions and change over time

Ng-Cordell, Elise; Hanley, Mary; Alyssa, Kelly; Riby, Deborah M.

doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3357-0

Anxiety in Williams Syndrome: The role of social behaviour, executive functions and change over time

Ng-Cordell, Elise; Hanley, Mary; Alyssa, Kelly; Riby, Deborah M.

Authors

Elise Ng-Cordell

Dr Mary Hanley mary.hanley@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Kelly Alyssa

Professor Deborah Riby deborah.riby@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Anxiety is a prevalent mental health issue for individuals with Williams syndrome (WS). Relatively little is known about the developmental course of anxiety, or how it links with core features of WS, namely social and executive functioning (EF). In this study, parent-reports of anxiety were compared across a 4-year period (N = 17), and links between anxiety, social and EF were explored from concurrent parent-reports (N = 26). Results indicated that high anxiety persisted over time, and anxiety was related to impairments in both social and executive functioning. Importantly, results indicated that impairments in EFs may drive the links between anxiety and social functioning. This timely investigation provides new insights into anxiety in WS and highlights potential areas for intervention.

Citation

Ng-Cordell, E., Hanley, M., Alyssa, K., & Riby, D. M. (2018). Anxiety in Williams Syndrome: The role of social behaviour, executive functions and change over time. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(3), 796-808. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3357-0

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Oct 15, 2017
Online Publication Date	Nov 9, 2017
Publication Date	Mar 1, 2018
Deposit Date	Oct 26, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Oct 27, 2017
Journal	Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Print ISSN	0162-3257
Electronic ISSN	1573-3432
Publisher	Springer
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	48
Issue	3
Pages	796-808
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3357-0

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