Mothers of 627 children with autism (ages 1–17, IQs 16–146) completedthe Pediatric Behavior Scale. Maternal ratings of anxiety and depression increasedwith age and IQ, but were unrelated to gender, parent occupation, and race. Anxietyand depression were highly correlated with each other and with autism severity,somatic complaints, mood disturbance, and social problems. Remaining correlationswith behavior problems, attention deficit, hyperactivity, and sleep problems weresmall. The strongest combined predictors of anxiety and depression were autismseverity, verbal IQ, and age, explaining 25% and 23% of the variance. Findingssuggest that anxiety and depression have a direct link with autism (increasing withautism severity) and a developmental component (increasing with age and IQ).Anxiety is present in most children with autism and depression is present in abouthalf. Therefore, all children with autism should be screened for anxiety anddepression and treated if indicated. Controlled studies are needed to determine whatinterventions are effective in reducing anxiety and depression in autism.
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