The Interplay of Anxiety, Skills, and Performance in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum and Specific Learning Disorders

Children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often struggle with social skills, leading to difficulties in adaptive behavior in social situations and the potential development of social anxiety (Spain et al., 2018; White et al., 2010). However, it is not clear the relationship between certain social skills (e.g., facial emotion recognition), and the rising of social anxiety in ASD. Moreover, social performance might be supported by specific cognitive abilities, namely executive functions, in which the majority of autistic individuals seem to experience difficulties (Hill, 2004). Differently, children with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are characterized by severe difficulties in the acquisition of academic competences, for example in mathematics, thus experiencing distress and anxiety in relation to their educational weaknesses, such as mathematics anxiety (Cipora et al., 2022; Ma & Xu, 2004). Also in this case, mathematical performance might be upheld by executive functions, in which children diagnosed with SLD often encounter difficulties (Agostini et al., 2022). However, the studies conducted so far have not led to a clear understanding of the association between cognitive abilities, anxiety, and performance in children with ASD and SLD. Bearing in mind that anxiety in ASD and SLD may be directly linked to their diagnostic characteristics (social anxiety for ASD, mathematics anxiety for SLD), some authors proposed a reciprocal interaction between social and academic functioning (Caemmerer & Hajovsky, 2022; Denham & Brown, 2010). For instance, children with SLD may experience socio-emotional challenges related to their academic struggles (Livingston et al., 2018; Terras et al., 2009; Willcutt et al., 2011, 2019), leading to social anxiety (Carroll & Iles, 2006; Rostami et al., 2014). Conversely, social skills deficits and social anxiety in autistic children can hinder the learning process, contributing to performance-based anxiety in a school setting, as discussed by Brook & Willoughby (2015). The present PhD dissertation aims at examining social and mathematical abilities by comparing children and adolescents with and without ASD and SLD. The first two studies focus on the predictive role of emotional (trait anxiety) and cognitive (executive functions) factors in social and mathematical abilities. The last two studies specifically investigate social and mathematics anxiety, by considering trait levels (reported by both parents and participants), and state components (subjective, behavioral and autonomic responses) to social and mathematical stressful tasks. The present PhD dissertation is an attempt to overcome the main gap in the literature concerning anxiety, as the majority of studies have explored it as a unitary construct, or taking just one point of view (e.g., parental report). Moreover, by comparing the study of anxiety, skills and performance across different neurodevelopmental disorders, researchers can gain a better understanding of the specific challenges and strengths associated with each condition. The dissertation concludes with general findings, limitations, and implications for clinical and educational settings.