What Are You Worried About? Content and Extent of Worry in Autistic Adults

Autistic adults commonly experience anxiety and worry, although knowledge on how worry presents and the content, extent, and experiences among autistic adults is limited. A convergent parallel mixed-methods approach was used to explore the presentation and experiences of worry in autistic and non-autistic adults. Quantitative surveys were used to compare the content and extent of worry in autistic adults to non-autistic adults, with semi-structured interviews also conducted with autistic adults to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences, impacts and content of worry in autistic adults. Findings indicated that autistic adults demonstrated clinically significant levels of worry which were substantially higher than non-autistic adults. Autistic adults described worry as a cycle of negative thoughts impacting their daily life. Findings indicate that autistic adults may worry more than non-autistic adults, impacting on participation in activities of daily living, sleep, and mental health.

Automated summary

Autistic adults commonly experience higher levels of worry than non-autistic adults, impacting their daily life activities, sleep, and mental health. The content and extent of worry in autistic adults were found to be clinically significant, with negative thoughts forming a cycle of worry for them. This study highlights the importance of understanding and addressing anxiety in autistic adults.