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Understanding the Interaction of Temperament and Social Skills in the Development of Social Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Margaret A. Millea, Nicole M. Shea and Joshua John Diehl

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often have comorbid psychopathology in addition to socialcommunication difficulties. Social anxiety is of particular interest because it has been linked to downstream deficits in social functioning. Bellini found a link between social skills, temperament, and the development of social anxiety. The current paper examines whether negative affectivity moderates the relationship between social skills and social anxiety. Twenty-five high-functioning children diagnosed with ASD were administered self and parent report questionnaires measuring pragmatics ability, socialization behaviors, negative affectivity, and social anxiety. High negative affectivity was related to social anxiety, and moderated the relationship between socialization behaviors and social anxiety. Pragmatics ability was not related to social anxiety. Together, these results indicate that negative affectivity is an important factor in the relationship between social skills and social anxiety, and that not all social skills deficits contribute to social anxiety.